Lehman's Country Life

It was a couple of years ago that Euell Gibbons got me all fired up about making my own maple syrup. It was late winter then and I was not prepared for my venture into syrup making at that point. But the following year I was ready. And I was fortunate enough to get me some of that sweet, golden nectar.

Yes indeed, there was some work involved, but the results far outweigh the effort. I was in it not to sell bottles of syrup, but to just make enough for my family and even a few friends to try.

With just a few maple trees (we will discuss species later), you too can have your own sugary sweetness. It doesn’t take a lot of fancy equipment; in fact, about the most expensive thing you will need is time.
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Over the past year Tony and I took a hard look at our garbage – how much we make, how we get rid of it and how could we reduce it.

In Ireland there are no property taxes. But you do pay for services like refuse collection and you have control over how much you compost, burn on the home hearth, recycle at the ‘Bring Centre’ (glass, plastic bottles and aluminium drink cans).

We buy refuse bags (five for €25) at our local supermarket issued by Cavan County Council that holds about 40 kilos. A household of two living conscientiously can reduce a lot of waste. Actually, most of ours is cat litter because I have not been totally successful in creating a cat litter composting area.
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He used to make it only when the snow was flying, usually on his days off from his job as a registered nurse.

My sister Becca and I knew Dad had baked bread as soon as we hit the door, just off the schoolbus. Our little house would be filled with a welcoming, unmistakable aroma, and big, crusty loaves of his signature whole-wheat bread (”Daddy Bread” to us) would be cooling on dishtowels on the counter.  We’d eat some hot right then (if he’d let us), and multiple pieces of “Daddy toast” were often breakfast each morning before school. It was best with just a bit of butter – no jelly to overtake the nice, yeasty flavor.
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