TALES OF THE ORCHARD

Our orchard has something like 175 trees. Someday we'll count them one-by-one and get the exact amount. We have a peaches, apricots, cherries and a few different kinds of apples. We've been told our trees are over 50 years old but we are treating them like our new babies.



Our little orchard has gone through a lot this Spring: a late frost hurt some of the blossoms and seven apple trees were lost due to a freakish wind storm in mid-April. Plus, we've had a bit of a slow start to Spring!

Happy to say the majority of trees look to be working hard to catch up with the late arrival of Spring, and we expect apricots and peaches to start growing very soon. We definitely look forward to seeing how much fruit we get and we can't wait to share the bounty with our guests!

The orchard is also a great place for a stroll, so when you come, take a walk through the orchard and be sure to check out the view of one of the peaks along the Blue Ridge Parkway, visible through the trees. Here's a close-up shot of that peak:



And check out the latest shot of the orchard (with a tree full of character in the foreground):

THE PADDLE BOAT ARRIVES

The paddle boat, perfect for our small mountain lake, arrived a few days ago. Of course, Csaba Pugga wanted to try it out immediately with Dave at the helm:





Csaba reports that the paddle boat is a fun activity for lake-loving guests.

The most exciting part of the day (for us, not Csaba) was the actual delivery. We did our best to warn the boating company repeatedly about our winding road through the forest, which is not tractor-trailer friendly. Unfortunately, they sent our 50-pound paddle boat on a very large truck. The driver ended up getting stuck on the road on his way out (much easier coming to us heading downhill than trying to get back up around hairpin turns!).



We felt sorry for the driver...it was hard enough on him getting to us, and now he was stuck.



What little traffic we have on our road was blocked in both directions for some time, but a local truck driver and tow trucks came to the rescue and all was well by late afternoon.

The paddle boat is ready for your use when you come to the Inn! Just make sure you don't drive to us in a tractor trailer...

INTRODUCTIONS

Hello! We're Dave and Brigette Walters, the new owners of the Inn on Mill Creek. As new innkeepers, we're excited to embark on this adventure. This blog will serve as a way for us to share our latest Inn news with you.

Some upcoming projects we've lined up for the Inn include painting the two-story great room in the Main House and landscaping around the Lake House. We'll be sharing pictures soon!

Check back often to see the latest happenings at the Inn on Mill Creek. Thanks for stopping by!