Tag Archive | Maple syrup
Mackenzie Environmental Center in Poynette
11-7-12 and 4-2-16
Mackenzie Environmental Center in Poynette not only educates people of all ages, the place is just plain fun to visit! It had been 4 years since our last visit so it was time for some updates. The center includes wildlife rescues, trails and education classes. Also a game farm. They always need volunteers, see their website, Friends of MacKenzie Environmental Center. Our most recent visit was to attend their Maple Syrup Festival, that was a lot of fun!
Let’s begin our tour of Mackenzie! Here is a map of the grounds.
The Lodge
Located on the south end of the complex, the lodge is where classes are held and where the commercial kitchen is. We had a great pancake breakfast there at the Maple Syrup fest. There is a large dining/presentation room that easily accomodated the many hungry people that came for breakfast.
There are some exhibits in some of the other rooms in the lodge. Also a cut from a very large tree that was cut down in 1961, it may have been storm damaged.
In the room are also snowshoes and cross-country skis for groups to use on a winter outing.
Observation Tower
The climb to the top was worth it, great view! The direction you are facing is labeled inside of the top enclosure. Even though it was very windy, I felt safe.
Next to the tower is a Smokey the Bear figure you can get a fun selfie with.
Wildlife Area
The “zoo” part of the park, there are animals here that you would typically see throughout Wisconsin. Many are animal rescues as well. The fire tower overlooks the Bison, or buffalo area. They are hard to see since they usually are not near the fence. An overview of the area. I will show you a few of the animals. It’s great they also show the footprint of the animal so you can identify it in the wild.
After visiting all the animals here, cross the street from the wildlife exhibit entrance to enjoy the Windbreak Walk. It looked pretty with snow on the tree branches and blue sky on our most recent visit.
Right across from the Windbreak Walk is the Badger Den, or conference building.
Lastly, we head down the hill to the little village where many outdoor education classes takes place. This is the Nelson Cabin, inside is a logging museum with many old photos and displays.
A Sawmill Diorama, very detailed!
We see the other out buildings, the Wallen Sugar House. A display was inside, also a sign telling you how to make your own syrup!
Many trees are tapped here to collect sap, more information on this sign.
The Syrup Finishing House
Behind these buildings is the sawmill building.
Mackenzie also has a Crab Apple Orchard, an important food source for the wildlife in this area.
We had two enjoyable visits here, give yourself several hours to see everything and have good walking shoes. Be sure to donate at least $1 when you visit to keep this great facility open. You can donate online as well. We hope to be back for another one of their seasonal events later in the year.
Maple Syrup Time at Wehr Nature Center
On March 26, 2011 My husband and I went to Franklin, WI to watch how they make maple syrup at the Wehr Nature Center. We arrived on a cold day, but not too cold to tap maple trees.
We joined a group led by a guide, and we walked through the sugar bush. She described how the tree is tapped. Also which leaves identify the maple.
We then made our way to the sugar camp, where a big cast iron pot was boiling sap down to a thick liquid.
The man running this camp fascinated the kids with his demonstration.
He was kind enough to pose with us for a picture, it looked like he was hiding though 🙂
After our hike through the forest, we made our way back to the nature center for some demonstrations.
Also had a pancake with some REAL maple Syrup!
We had a great time learning how maple syrup is made and had a great winter outing too.
Related articles
- Don’t Be Fooled: Fake Maple Syrup (baronmethod.wordpress.com)
- Say Goodbye to Grade B Maple Syrup: Vermont Changes Its Maple Syrup Labeling (thekitchn.com)
- vegalicious scones (sweetbellavita.wordpress.com)
- Not the Maple Syrup! Loss of Vermont Maple Trees to Climate Change (theecotoneexchange.com)
A Beary Good Time in Mukwonago
No, I wrote beary in the title on purpose, “Mukwonago” literally means “place of the bear”. It’s located 15 miles south of the Milwaukee city limits. My husband I went there yesterday (3-9-13) for a visit. This town has strong roots in Native American culture, and the populace enjoys visitors. We headed downtown to the historic downtown where a couple of the original houses stood when the town was founded, there was a 9-foot tall wood carving of a bear.
We also found a synopsis of the history of the town on a sign.
Native American history is also quite visible. Outside The Country Porch store downtown is a wooden Indian outside, not many of those left anymore.
We continued to a local store that is a favorite in the area, “The Elegant Farmer”. This is a very unique store, it’s in a barn, and they sell all manner of specialty foods, plus they have a deli. Across the street they have an apple orchard and grow pumpkins. The have many events throughout the year for the public to enjoy. It’s a happy place, as depicted by their smiley face barn front facing the road.
They had a maple syrup making demo at The Elegant Farmer.
Staff from Covenant Harbor at nearby Lake Geneva have sugar maple trees on site that they tap and make their own maple syrup from. They are having a Maple Fest on April 7 and they were promoting this event. We learned it takes about 70-80 gallons of sap boiled down to make ONE gallon of maple syrup.
A food the The Elegant Farmer is famous for is their “Apple Pie Baked in a Bag”. Bobby Flay from the Food Network tried to make a better apple pie on his show “Throwdown With Bobby Flay”, but he lost!
We had a good time and will return later in the year. We also want to explore two other nearby towns, Genesee and Genesee Depot. There is a historic site at Genesee Depot that is not open yet called Ten Chimneys we want to see.