This weather makes me think that Punxsutawney Phil could have been wrong. The weather this week has been nothing but spectacular. Yesterday, even up here, it was 60 degrees in the shade and sunny.

As I walked to the mailbox, I noticed that I had crocuses in the yard. They were in full bloom. This is only the fifteenth of February. It is early for crocuses. I am not the only one who noticed them. A friend posted crocuses that she noticed on her noon time walk – in town.

I also noticed that one of my trees seems to be budding. We have not even had maple syrup season yet. If the trees are budding there will be no sap running. I feel sorry for those who produce maple syrup. It is a tough business as it is. It takes about forty gallons of sap to produce one gallon of maple syrup. If you ever wondered why it is so expensive, factor in the hours to collect the sap, the hours with a wood fire burning, and the final step that turns it into maple syrup.

My first husband loved to eat maple syrup on ice cream. I must admit it is delicious that way. We never made our own syrup, but we let someone tap our trees. They in turn gave us a couple gallons of syrup.

My son just had to try the process. He boiled his sap outside by a wood fire with his son helping with the process. I think it was probably as much of an educational experience as it was getting the syrup. After a season he figured that was not for him. It took too much time and he was busy enough with the farm as it was.

I remember taking the grandchildren around to some farms on the annual open house for maple producers.

They got to see someone tap a tree, then collect the sap and make it into maple syrup. At another place they got to make some candy. We also bought some maple cotton candy. After our tour we went for pancakes.

One year I got an invitation to attend the Maple Producers event that took place in Chautauqua County. I took the opportunity and traveled with them for two days. We met at Peek ‘N Peak and boarded buses for our travel experience. Those bus drivers had a tough time getting to all of the places that they were scheduled to go.

When you tour your own area with strangers, it is an eye-opening experience. We take for granted the beautiful area of the country that we live in. As I listened to those around me talking about the beauty it thrilled me to think that I get to live here all of the time.

We did not spend all of our time in New York. We also traveled to some producers in Pennsylvania. I recall visiting one producer who collected his sap with his beautiful draft horses. I have since gone by that facility many times on my travels.

I remember stopping for lunch at the fire department in one little community. We had a nice break and a delicious lunch to boot.

There is a Pancake House not far from here near Cuba, NY that the Senior Center visited a couple times. I remember going there on a beautiful day on a small bus. The food was delicious. Of course, we had either pancakes, French toast, or waffles to that we could enjoy the real maple syrup.

When I typed real maple syrup it made me think of the annual Akeley Pancake Supper. We always get real maple syrup for that. People come and stay for a while to visit. We always have a good turnout.

We serve: pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, homemade applesauce, and beverages. It is all for a donation. The money is used for our local missions. Watch for the announcement for this year’s event.

At home I make potato pancakes that my mother always loved. It made a good Sunday dinner. I also make pumpkin pancakes. My second husband loved those. When we were dating, he was overjoyed if he happened to stop and I was making pumpkin pancakes. That happened more than once. I swear he had radar that told him when I was making them.

I know if I mention food, I have to publish the recipe or I get complaints. So here it is.

Pumpkin Pancakes

1 c. all purpose flour

1/3 c. buttermilk or sour milk

2 c. pumpkin puree

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. baking powder

2 T. melted butter

¢ c. honey

1 egg

¢ tsp. salt

Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice (1 tsp. cinnamon, ¢ tsp. nutmeg, ¢ tsp. ginger, ™ tsp. ground cloves). In another bowl slightly beat the egg. Add pumpkin puree, honey, buttermilk, and butter. Mix until smooth. Blend in dry ingredients. Allow batter to rest for 30 min. If the mixture is too thick add more buttermilk. Fry on griddle as per pancakes. Makes about 24 – 3″- pancakes. Serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or maple syrup.

Ann Swanson writes from her home in Russell, Pa. Contact at hickoryheights1@verizon.net.