We went hiking earlier this week with some friends at the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary in Massachusetts.

My family had never been to the sanctuary and we were excited to see all the bird life there, even with the cold temperatures. Our friends brought a small bag of seeds and the birds were eager to welcome the kids to the trail. My kids had never encountered such friendly birds and were thrilled with the up-close look.

After playing with the birds, washing hands and having a snack, our friends helped us take some goofy pictures of Flat Stanley.

On our way back down the trail the kids spotted maple sugaring collection buckets. Being south of Maine, I should have realized that Massachusetts starts their sugaring season earlier. Maine's Maple Sugar Sunday isn't for a few more weeks (March 26 this year) and the kids are really looking forward to our annual trip to a sugar house.

After the hike, our friends suggested a drive over to Richardson's Dairy in Middleton, Mass. I know, it was a little weird to eat ice cream after spending the morning hiking in the cold but we all LOVE the stuff and my friends assured us it was worth the trip.

It was.

The ice cream was very tasty and I didn't feel guilty about eating the whole thing. It was a Richardson's small after all.