Stratford’s Corn is In, Syrup Cooking and Bees Alive!

Published in The Delaware Gazette: March 15, 2014

The winter weather did not loosen its grip as we turned the calendar to March. Fortunately, it did not exactly roar in as forecast, depositing only three inches of snow with temperatures around twenty degrees, at Stratford Ecological Farm on Liberty Road. We can only hope it will go out like a lamb, and we can enjoy the early shrubs and wildflowers in the nature preserve.

It has been three weeks since a record 220 maple trees were tapped. In the first week every effort was made to collect the sap before another cold spell set in, causing the flow to stop. One hundred and forty gallons was collected and brought to the sugar shack to process into maple syrup. We were happy, as we had enough to cook to educate our students participating in the “Messages from the Earth” program.

As luck would have it conditions were near perfect around our Maple Sugar breakfast on March 8. We had more sap in the evaporator to demonstrate the technique to our 500 visitors, after they filled themselves with farm raised sausage, pancakes and syrup. The sky was blue and the woodland path very muddy but everyone remained cheerful, even those at the dishwashing station!

Education and helping the environment is our mission at Stratford, and judging by a story shared by Dick Danke, a veteran at the sugar shack, we are making an impression on our visitors. A young boy from Wellington School informed Dick he had visited before, and knew all about the process. Dick said to go ahead and explain it to the other visitors. He did, verbatim! A similar incident happened in the small greenhouse, where a spinning demonstration was taking place. The child recognized the spinner from a visit to COSI, and immediately repeated the steps she had taught him there.

A couple of weeks ago Farmer Jeff was able to take advantage of frozen ground free of snow, and finally harvested last year’s corn. He did not run into any problems with the old one row harvester, and pulled a trailer behind to collect the shucked ears. He enjoyed the peace of his surroundings and continued well into the night. Yields were gratifying even after the deer and other critters had their fill, with three hundred bushels grown on three and a half acres.

The cattle were delighted to have free access from the barn to the corn stalks and the errant kernels in the South Pasture. They grazed all over the field and ignored their hay. We allowed the goats out too, but they never did find the corn. The fifteen robust lambs were eager to follow, but conditions were too wet and we did not want them fighting with the adult goats for food.

Five schools participated in the winter “Messages” 5th grade program. The idea is to give them a framework for 80% of their Life Science requirements. A newsletter was sent home advising the students to dress for the weather and always wear two layers on their legs. One teacher even checked! With a high of 18 F one day it was an excellent idea. The kids were proud of their ability to withstand the cold and actually loved it. Activities alternated between outside and inside the warm greenhouses.

It was too cold to sit quietly in their “magic spots,” so the students were allowed to go off trail in the woods on a “magic exploration.” They could explore on their own terms whilst not under direct supervision. Some discovered the frozen stream and picked up sheets of ice, only to drop them on the rocks and enjoy the sight of their splitting apart. Others crossed the stream on fallen logs and discovered crystals built up under fallen logs. It is amazing what these kids notice when they have the opportunity to look around them. The day ends on the patio with cider heated over the fire in the stone hearth.

Dave Noble, Stratford’s beekeeper, braced himself for losses as he began checking the bee hives in early March, after the wide swings in temperature this winter. The outcome was a bit worse than hoped, with nearly 50% not surviving the winter. However, those hives near the pond and sugar shack nearly all survived and are strong and healthy. After the flowers bloom and the hives have a chance to “build up” Dave will begin the process of raising new queens and he will divide the eleven remaining hives into twenty or more strong hives, so we will back to our original numbers.

Farm and Nature tours for the younger school children start next week Vernal pool monitoring, a cooking class, small farmers, family farm chores, organic gardening instruction, vegetable variety seeding, spring seed swap, native plants and a wild flower walk are all scheduled in the next month. Information is on our website and we hope you find something to excite you to visit us.

Pauline Scott is a farm and nature guide at Stratford Ecological Center, 3083 Liberty Road, Delaware, Ohio, 43015, Tel. 740 363 2548. Email StratfordCenter@aol.com or visit our web site at StratfordEcologicalCenter.org