I nearly drooled on my pancakes as I read about maple sugaring tours taking place in New England this month. Yes, March is tapping season, the time when sap of maple trees is drained and boiled down into a deliciously sweet, beautiful amber syrup.In my house we insist on the real maple syrup, none of that cheap imitation artificially-colored corn syrup for my precious pancakes children.I love to see things get made and although I love the idea of heading to New England and driving from sugar shack to sugar shack each day to watch the process firsthand and resting our weary bodies at cozy inns each night, it's just not in the family budget right now.Lucky for me, my family can head to a nearby nature center here in Chicago area for a less authentic, but more hands-on tree tapping and sap boiling experience. The boys will get to try their hands at tree tapping, dip their fingers in the clear sap before it's boiled down and learn how many gallons of sap must be reduced to create a bottle of our favorite syrup.If you don't have maple trees in your next of the woods, don't despair. You can get a good overview of the process here.Kim blogs about mommybloggers and parenting gifted children at Hormone-colored Days.

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