Getting Sappy Makes me Happy

I love maple syrup. My pancakes become rafts floating in a carmel colored pool of sweet sticky goodness. You can keep your jams and other fruit-flavored syrups. I'll take mine with maple, thank-you. Call me old-fashioned or plain. I don't mind. To me, nothing tastes as good on pancakes as pure Michigan Maple Syrup. Yum!

Another breakfast use for maple syrup that I enjoy is putting it on my oatmeal with a little brown sugar. You can probably call me old-fashioned for eating regular oatmeal, too.

Did you know maple syrup was the sweetener of choice for Michigan's Native Americans? They had figured out how to boil it down and concentrate the sweetness. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. So, in case you thought you could go out in your yard and tap a couple of your maples to save some money, you better think again. You need a large grove of sugar maple trees (called a sugar bush) to collect enough sap for making maple syrup.

Here are some maple syrup facts courtesy of the Michigan Maple Syrup Producers Association:

• Michigan produces about 80,000 gallons of maple syrup each year
• Michigan ranks 6th in the nation in maple syrup production
• Maple syrup is one of the few agricultural products where demand exceeds supply
• When trees bud out the sap becomes bitter, this is what makes production cease
• Pure Michigan maple syrup has 50 calories per tablespoon and is fat-free

Hartwick Pines is holding their annual Maple Syrup Day this Saturday, March 25. Read about it in the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

Read about a Milford family that makes their own maple syrup in a suburban setting.

Solar Firm Creates Jobs in Greenville

More and more headlines these days are touting Michigan as the future hub of alternative energy. Having already pioneered the auto industry it only makes sense for Michigan to lead the way as a pioneer in alternative energy sources. This seems to be the next big industry and it looks like we might get in on the ground floor just as we did with autos. United Solar Ovonic LLC will build their new plant in Greenville creating 200 jobs when it begins operations in 2007. Depending on the demand for solar panels and the plant's performance, there could be an additional 1,000 jobs created by building another five plants. This area could use the good news after its major employer, Electrolux AB, closed its doors.

Read the article in the Detroit Free Press

Scalawags Whitefish and Chips - Best Fish Ever

Lansing should count itself lucky. They are home to the first Scalawags Whitefish and Chips restaurant south of Petoskey. If you have ever had the privilege of eating at one of the Scalawags restaurants, you know what I mean. The first location was Mackinaw City. The first time (and every time after) I ate there the fish tasted so good and fresh that you would have swore that the fish jumped out of the lake and landed in the fryer. I must confess that this testimony is coming from someone who really doesn't like fish.

No, really. I don't. This is the only place that I will go out to eat and order fish. Ask my wife, she will tell you that I am not a big fish fan. That is how good Scalawags whitefish tastes.

I try and eat at Scalawags at least once per year. That used to mean I would have to at least go as far north as Petsoskey. That is no longer true. I only need to steer my way over to the town I called home for a few years – Lansing. Well, okay, the restaurant is located in Okemos which is a suburb of Lansing.

Technicalities aside, if you are ever in Lansing, Petoskey, Cheboygan, Mackinaw City, or potentially Traverse City (no official word yet, but they might put one in there) you have to give Scalawags Whitefish and Chips a try. You can usually have dinner for two for under $20.

Check out Scalawags Whitefish and Chips at their website. They are one of the few restaurants I have seen that actually have prices for their menu items posted online. There are also sections with customer comments, maps to their various locations, and if you are interested in bringing Scalawags to your town – an application to purchase a franchise.

Is Bird Flu the Next Y2K?

Remember how the world was going to face mass chaos and horrific events when the year 1999 rolled into the year 2000? All those folks who listened to the daily barrage of the impending doom who stockpiled food, water, and purchased generators. Then, the clock struck midnight and our computer's internal calendars rolled over to 2000. Nothing. No riots in the streets. No worldwide blackouts and panic. It was yet another panic caused by overzealous media and politicians.

I believe that the current bird flu craze is in the same vein as Y2K. I think it is easy to stir up public panic when the media dishes up daily stories related to bird flu. Bird flu is not something that is new in the past few years.

It has always been around. The avian influenza (bird flu) pandemic of 1918 is evidence of this. In the current bird flu frenzy the media is creating there have only been 103 deaths attributed. My fear is that once again the news media is playing Chicken Little and claiming that the sky is falling because it makes for a good story.

10 years ago we didn't get daily reports of recent bird deaths. Now, it seems every time someone spots a dead bird it is because of the West Nile Virus or possibly (gasp) bird flu. Don't birds ever die of natural causes? I know I have been unfortunate enough to snuff out a few birds that flew in front of my truck. I didn't see any crime scenes or news crews gathered around investigating those deaths.

The point is this. More people are dying from influenza (you know, the regular old flu) each year than the worldwide deaths attributed to bird flu. Did you know that each year 36,000 people in the United States die from influenza? Yet, all we hear about is bird flu which has only claimed 103 individuals worldwide.

For more media frenzy coverage, the Lansing State Journal has a story about how Michigan is smack dab in the middle of the migratory path of birds that could be carriers of bird flu.

State Looks Set to Give Aid to Detroit Zoo

Our state House is ready to approve the $4 million in funding that the Detroit Zoo previously lost out on due to the Detroit City Council's bungling and ineptness. Although the City Council did purchase themselves redemption of a sort when they finally came to terms with having to let the Detroit Zoological Society take over daily operations of the zoo to save the city of Detroit some money. The Detroit Free Press has the full article.

Average Gas Price for State - $2.56

Today's statewide average for a gallon of regular unleaded is $2.56 according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report. This is up about $.10 from 10 days ago when I previously reported that in southwest Michigan gas had increased $.40 in just two weeks. For gas saving tips (aside from not driving at all :)) check out AAA's Gas Saving Tips.