The Fooling of Torch Lake

April Fools Day…

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It could just as well be called March Fools Day or January Fools Day or May Fools Day.

There’s no clear record of exactly how & when the joking around began though there are several excellent theories. It seems likely the holiday simply evolved in response to human’s sometimes bizarre sense of humor. Apparently we’ve been trying to fool each other since the beginning. Rumor even has it that Eve told Adam the apple was made of ice cream!

There are three components to every good April Fools joke…

  • you have to be sneaky…very sneaky!
  • you have to take your victim by surprise
  • the goal is to laugh – not to hurt

If you need help getting started, here are 3 of the most famous April Fools Days jokes:

On April 1, 1957, the BBC managed to convince their audience that spaghetti could be grown on trees. They filmed a tree full of spaghetti in Sweden & explained that the spaghetti could be grown because the ‘spaghetti weevil’ had been successfully eradicated…Yup people actually bought that hoax. Here’s a photo from the Museum of Hoaxes.

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In 1976, the BBC did it again when they had astronomer Patrick Moore announce that Jupiter, Pluto & Earth would be in alignment. He explained that during this rare occurrence, Earth’s gravity would be effected & people would actually weigh less…Yup bought that one too!

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Listeners were told that if they jumped at exactly 9:47 a.m. they could briefly float. People not only claimed to have jumped, they also reported floating around the room & hitting their head on the ceiling.

Burger King got into the April Fools act in 1998 when they published a full page ad in the USA Today advertising the ‘Left-Handed Whopper’. They claimed that all the extras had been redistributed so that left handed people could more easily eat their hamburgers…you guessed it, people tried to buy it!

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Now, if you’re are a ready to do some fooling of your own, here are 3 great ways to get started:

1. Tell someone you bought them an iPad. imagesIB2G0XE1If I have to explain this one to you, call me, we seriously need to talk!

2. Tell your favorite person you’ll fix them a nice bowl of cereal for breakfast.

images59FCS11V Do it the night before & freeze it!

3.  Buy some Oreos, take them apart, & scrape off the frosting.

untitled Replace the frosting with some lovely minty toothpaste! Serve with milk.

This last one just cracks me up!

Now go forth & fool some more.

Me…I’m off to eat some cereal!!!

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The Pancakes & Bluebirds of Torch Lake

If you’re feeling stir crazy or you’ve a bit of cabin fever…

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I have just the cure for you this weekend!!! If you read the previous maple syrup blog (see March 23rd – The Sweetness of Torch Lake), you know about my maple addiction. This coming Saturday March 29th, at 10:00 a.m, you have the opportunity to attend a maple syrup class at the Grass River Natural Area. The cost is a whole $5. You can tap a tree, play with the equipment, or taste the syrup. Checkout their website for more information: www.grassriver.org – click on GRNA calendar. imagesBJ9ZE3EVAnd if that’s not enough to perk you up, how about Bluebirds?

Each year in Northern MI, we wait for those perpetual harbingers of happiness. They’re obviously not here yet…but  you can travel to Traverse City, Saturday, to The 2014 Spring Bluebird Festival. The event runs from 9:45 to 4:45 at NMC’s Great Lakes Campus’ Hagerty Center at 715 E. Front Street. Admission & is free. You can shop for mealworms, build a nest box, & get your bluebird questions answered once & for all. For more information visit the website: www.MichiganBluebirds.org or call Tom Comfort at 231-676-0565.

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Last but not least… Why yes I do have a favorite pancake recipe…thanks for asking! I’d like to be able to tell you that I make pancakes from scratch from my grandmothers old recipe, but hanging my head in shame, I have to admit I get some help from Hungry Jack. If you like thin crispy pancakes stop reading right here & go do something else, otherwise…

Ingredients:

  • Hungry Jack Complete Buttermilk Pancake Mix
  • Oatmeal
  • Milk
  • Pecans
  • Butter
  • Copious amounts of maple syrup

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The Sweetness of Torch Lake

To Aunt Jemima, Log Cabin, & Mrs. Butterworth…

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all I can say is, “Eat your heart out!”

It’s maple syrup season in Michigan & there’s no better maple syrup in the world than the syrup of northern Michigan. If you know the movie Elf, you know that Will Ferrell loved maple syrup, even on his spaghetti. I don’t go that far but I consider myself a connoisseur of all things maple after a lifetime of pancake, waffle, & ice cream eating.

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Here’s the scoop! (no pun intended)

  • You can thank northeastern Native Americans for discovering this sweet treat.
  • Maple syrup is made from the sap of….you guessed it….maple trees. Sugar, red & black maple trees to be exact.
  • Sap is processed in a “sugar bush” & involves a huge amount of work.
  • Sap has to be collected during the spring when the daytime temps cause the sap to rise in the trunks, but before the trees begin to bud.
  • The best maple syrup is made from sap boiled outside over an open flame.
  • Maple syrup is classified according to color & density, but it really all comes down to personal taste.
  • Because its labor intensive, maple syrup is costly, but absolutely worth it.

If you’re out & about the next few weeks & see someone pounding on a maple tree or hanging a bucket on it, or you see plastic lines running between a stand of trees, you should consider stopping & hollering “Thank You”!

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If you have the opportunity to lend a hand at a sugar bush, don’t think twice, jump on it!

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The best part? Digging into a tall stack of pancakes fragrant, hot off the griddle, & smothered in maple syrup…

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or waffles, or ice cream, or oatmeal, or granola, or muffins, or cornbread, or…

you get the idea!

Me…I’m off to find my pancake mix!

I nevr did get the knack of putting my clothes away...

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