1. My folks trimmed several trees in the yard, including a couple young sugar maples they planted years ago.

2. The sun evaporated the running sap from the missing branches into sugary droplets.

3. My visiting niece was encouraged to lick the maple bark, prompted by demonstrations from me and my siblings.

4.  We watched to see if she would test out any other trees when we weren’t looking.

5.  Success!