Quiet Season Discount (January-March)

Winter view from a trail near the Inn on Mill Creek

Wintertime is always associated with the word "quiet" here in our part of the North Carolina mountains. When guests stay at our Bed & Breakfast near Black Mountain and Old Fort during winter, it's often to engage in some post-holiday stress relief by starting the new year off with some relaxation in the calm and quiet surroundings of Pisgah National Forest.

Sit in front of a fire, slumber peacefully, have a great breakfast, maybe get out and do a little walking or hiking on a sunny day (the vistas seen on many trails in the mountains in wintertime are spectacular with the absence of view-blocking foliage), have dinner at a great restaurant without a high-season wait time... Take it easy and enjoy the peace and quiet is what we like to say.

From January through March of 2010, you'll be able to relax in our neck of the woods with our 10% Quiet Season room discount on a reservation of two or more nights. Holidays and weekends included, of course.

We'll be putting together a list of winter activities (and winter hikes) soon, but relaxing is always at the top of the list here at the Inn on Mill Creek!

Winter Bird Watch

They call me Mr. Titmouse

As a site on the North Carolina Birding Trail, we're fortunate to be able to see a variety of interesting birds in our neck of the woods, Pisgah National Forest. Being two miles within the National Forest with nothing but thousands of trees, each season brings birdwatching opportunities at the Inn on Mill Creek. And so, Winter arrived on December 21, and -- as if they had little calendars tucked under their wings -- the Tufted Titmice and Dark-eyed Juncos arrived at our feeders that day.

We have one very rambunctious, very vocal and fearless Tufted Titmouse who has claimed one of our birdfeeders as his own. He enjoys guarding his turf against a trio of smaller Tufted Titmice and other birds.


On patrol at his birdfeeder

We think it may be the same Tufted Titmouse who visited us last March at the end of winter, when we first put the birdfeeders out. He and his friends love to pose for photos. Here are a couple of photos of our smaller Tufted Titmouse, who likes to sneak birdseed from the feeder when Mr. Titmouse isn't looking:





About the Tufted Titmouse: The Tufted Titmouse is a small gray bird with large, dark eyes. In between its eyes is a black square/hourglass, and on top of its head is a crest (which we like to call a mohawk, because, well, that's what it is). The mohawk, which you can see in the photos above, really makes them stand out. They also have light-colored chests with rusty-colored sides, which is sometimes faint and not easy to see. They live in our woods all year long, but tend to visit our feeders only in cool weather. One feature we like about our Tufted Titmouse is that he'll grab a sunflower seed and fly with it onto a tree branch, where he'll smash the seed against the branch. It almost sounds like a woodpecker.

The Dark-eyed Juncos have taken over the territory just under Mr. Titmouse's feeder, enjoying the seed that spills out onto the ground. These plump birds are fun to watch, hopping around on the ground and interacting with each other. Here's one of the Dark-eyed Juncos that discovered seed under Mr. Titmouse's feeder:



About Dark-eyed Juncos: They are medium-sized sparrows and there are a few different types; ours are the "slate-colored" kind. They have short and stout dark gray bodies and white bellies, and you can see their white outer tail feathers when they fly. Dark-eyed Juncos forage on the ground around feeders, and our Dark-eyed Juncos are no exception. We typically see anywhere between 4 and 14 at one time when there's a lot of seed on the ground (thanks to Mr. Titmouse).

Finally, on the first day of winter, we spotted a small woodpecker in one of the butternut trees that line the driveway at the Inn on Mill Creek. It looked like perhaps a female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker...but we are novice bird identifiers and therefore, that's just a guess. Here are the best of our shots:





Stay tuned this season as we add to our bird sightings at the Inn!

Snow Days

This past weekend, Mother Nature set us up with a winter wonderland scene for Christmas week, with over 16 inches of snow. Above is a photo taken December 19, looking past our driveway, down to our orchard across the road (the snow giving us a temporary and appreciated break in pruning the remainder of our apple trees).

We had a wonderful couple, Dave and Claudia, staying with us over the weekend who were celebrating their 38th anniversary. We spent two evenings having dinner and great conversations with Dave and Claudia before they headed home on Sunday. And Guest Dave insisted on lending a hand to Innkeeper Dave with shoveling the drive on Saturday, which was awesome. Thanks, Dave!

We hope that everyone affected by the snow has been having a good week. The temperatures have been fairly warm and the skies sunny, so the roads are clear and the snow is melting, but there's still plenty of the white stuff around for everyone's enjoyment.

It's been quite a while since we had enough snow to build a snowman, but this week, we've got the good fortune of having the Holmes family from Florida staying at the Inn, and they have some talented snowman builders in their ranks. Check out this guy that they created while taking a break from sledding:



If you'll be in our neck of the woods this weekend, here are a few items to note:

• Biltmore Estate will be open December 24, until 4pm, and from 10:30am until 3pm on Christmas Day. There will be no Christmas Candlelight Evening tours those days. Keep in mind, we have two-day tickets for the price of one day's admission with an additional $10 discount of the gated ticket price.


• White Horse Black Mountain in downtown Black Mountain will be holding a free Christmas Eve concert from 6pm to 8pm featuring the debut of The Wildnerness Act and performances by White Horse's talented owners, Bob Hinkle and Kim Hughes.


• A list of restaurants open on Christmas Day is available at the Asheville Convention and Visitors Bureau website


• The gingerbread houses that were part of the National Gingerbread House Competition display at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville left to make an appearance on ABC's Good Morning America on December 24. The houses will return to Grove Park Inn for public viewing on the afternoon of December 28. The display runs until January 3.

Free Christmas Eve Concert at White Horse

Bob Hinkle and Kim Hughes, owners of the White Horse Black Mountain music and arts venue in downtown Black Mountain, have arranged a free special Christmas Eve concert on December 24, featuring the debut of The Wilderness Act.

Lance and Carissa Moore are The Wilderness Act, a folk-duo with ancient celtic influence. Regional music fans will remember guitarist Lance and pianist and fiddler Carissa from their previous group, Gypsy Bandwagon.

Additionally, Bob and Kim, will perform during the Christmas Eve concert at White Horse. Kim had a successful opera career for 15 years in New York and Bob's 40-year music and entertainment background includes performing with the Good Earth and the Virginians and managing other performers such as Etta James and Harry Chapin. Both Bob and Kim are amazing singers and we're glad to hear they'll be lending their voices to the concert on Christmas Eve.

For more information about White Horse Black Mountain, including a calendar of upcoming acts, visit www.whitehorseblackmountain.com

Two Kiva Loans

At the beginning of this year, we set a goal to fund 10 small business owners in developing countries as part of the Inn on Mill Creek's 10th birthday celebration. We're part of a microlending program through Kiva, where regular people like us can pool our money with other lenders to loan to people with small businesses who are trying to lift themselves out of poverty, make a positive impact in their communities and be part of making their local economies stronger. When the business owners pay back their loans, we can either take our money out or invest in another entrepreneur; we choose to do the latter.

Today, we chose our ninth and tenth small business owners. Arif is a married father of two who opened a machine shop in Azerbaijan five years ago. Arif is hoping to improve his shop, where he paints and repairs vehicles:




Byambajargal is 33 years old and lives with her husband and son in Mongolia's capital, Ulaanbaatar. She and her family sold their livestock seven years ago and moved to the city, where Byambajargal started a business at the local food market selling flour:



Byambajargal has done well enough with her business so far that she's been able to expand her sales to rice and sugar. She'll use her loan to buy flour for resale in order to further grow her business.

Our best to both Arif and Byambajargal!

As the year wraps up, we're happy to share that four of our ten small business owners, Eusebia (Peru), Mavjuda (Tajikistan), Ndeye (Senegal) and Marcos (Honduras), paid back their loans, meaning we were able to make microloans to four more small business owners. Plus, Mohammad Smail in Afghanistan, one of our 2008 loan recipients, paid back his loan this year, allowing us to help out a fifth new business owner. And as our other loan recipients continue to pay back their loans, we'll be able to invest in helping others as we head into 2010. That makes us smile.

Folk Art Houses Exhibit at the NC Arboretum

Photo Credit: NC Arboretum

The North Carolina Arboretum is one of our favorite places in the area. Located just south of Asheville, about 40 minutes from the Inn on Mill Creek, the Arboretum has several gardens and trails, as well as exhibits. Now through January 3, 2010, the Arboretum's Baker Exhibit Center is hosting a special exhibit called Building Small: American Folk Art Houses and Structures. The selection of folk art houses is part of what is considered the largest collection of its kind in the country. With a rich tradition of folk art in our neck of the woods, this exhibit fits right in. According to the Arbortum:

"Steven Burke and Randy Campbell have gathered more than 900 structures, including houses, churches, hotels, castles, schools, carnival rides and stores...Most were constructed between 1890 and 1950, and originated from a regional band stretching into New England from the Midwest."

The Arboretum has special hours for the Building Small exhibit:

• Tuesdays through Sundays, 10am-4pm
  
• Open until 7pm on select Thursdays, including December 17
• Closed Mondays

Additionally, on January 3, Collector Steven Burke will share his insights and perspectives with the public during a special lecture at 2pm. The program is free and does not require registration.

For more things to do while you're visiting the Arboretum, visit www.ncarboretum.org.

Santa Practices at Chimney Rock Park

On Saturday, December 12, Santa Claus will be practicing his chimney maneuvering skills by scaling the 315-foot Chimney at Chimney Rock Park, located a half hour south of the our Bed & Breakfast near Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Last year, USA Today named Chimney Rock one of the top 10 places to catch up with Santa. We're happy to hear that Jolly Ol' St. Nick will be visiting Chimney Rock again this year before his Christmas Eve visit to millions of chimneys around the world. You can see Santa at Chimney Rock Park from 11am until 2pm. Keep in mind that the Park has special reduced rates right now, due to improvements being done on the elevator.

December Visit to Biltmore Estate

Red berries add to the festive mood at Biltmore during Christmas

Brigette's mom was in town over the Thanksgiving holiday. Whenever she comes, a trip to Biltmore Estate (located in Asheville, North Carolina, about 20 minutes from the Inn on Mill Creek) is a must-do on the schedule.

Since Brigette and her mom have been to Biltmore so many times -- too many times to count -- they plan specific activities each time they go now, rather than try to see everything. On the docket this time: Touring the Biltmore House to see the Christmas decorations and lunch at the Deerpark Restaurant on the Estate.


Deerpark Restaurant


Trees and plants brought in for the Christmas celebration

Plus, quick stops at the Winery and Brigette's favorite spot at Biltmore, the Conservatory, were added to the to-do list once we were there.


The Conservatory makes you forget it's December


Gorgeous orchids in the Conservatory

What we loved during this visit:

• The beautiful holly garland hung on the chandelier in the Winter Garden (a room near the front entrance that has a glass roof). Guests aren't permitted to take pictures of the inside of Biltmore House, so we recommend going for yourself to see!
  
• Gifts with red ribbon laid out on the servants' beds on the fourth floor
• The festive frames around the family photos in the Tapestry Gallery
  
• Fireplaces placed in the Conservatory and decorated to match the fireplaces in the House. So clever!

• Presents (large ones) used as ornaments on the 35-foot tree in the Banquet Hall
• The shimmering silver garland on the mantel in the Louis XV Room (one of the four newly-renovated rooms that opened to the public this year). The other thing Brigette loves about the Louis XV Room is that it looks out over her favorite garden, the Italian Garden.
  
• The Deerpark Restaurant's butternut squash bisque (shown below with salad), and their gingerbread tart dessert. Amazing food that's grown on the Estate.
  

• The Gingerbread Biltmore House on display in the Main Kitchen. Of note: The Gingerbread Biltmore House is made of 32 pounds of gingerbread!
• The tree decorated in gold and purple in Mrs. Vanderbilt's room
• The balls of garland decorating the lamps in the courtyard of the Deerpark Restaurant
• As always, the view of the house from the Lagoon on the way to the Winery. Even in December, it's fabulous:
  

If you're planning a visit to Biltmore Estate while you're staying with us at the Inn on Mill Creek, you can pick up daytime tickets right here at the Inn, at a $10 discount per ticket and those tickets are good for two consecutive days for the price of one. Plus, now through January 3, 2010, for $10 per ticket, you can upgrade your ticket to see the sparkly lights on the trees and the many gorgeous fireplaces aglow in the house during Biltmore's Christmas Candlelight Evenings. Please allow for 48 hours' notice for us to take care of your upgrade.

The Adventures of Buttermilk Biscuit

Innkeeper Brigette, Innpug Csaba (hiding) and Buttermilk

As we were returning from errands in Black Mountain on Friday afternoon, what did we come across? A baby goat all by itself out in the middle of our road, about half a mile from the Inn on Mill Creek. It seemed that this little guy had been domesticated by someone; he was as clean as a whistle, and as tame as could be. It also appeared that he was dropped off, since goats don't naturally make their home in our neighborhood (Pisgah National Forest). Deer? Sure. Foxes? Yes. Squirrels and rabbits and myriad kinds of birds? Of course. Bears? Occasionally. Goats? Well...no.

He was a cutie. We named him Buttermilk Biscuit (Buttermilk for short).


Dried leaf. Yum Yum.

Buttermilk had started off the day homeless, poor thing, and was very confused at being left in the woods, so we brought him back to the Inn, and after introducing him to Csaba and Bugsy, the innpugs (who seemed mildly interested, having never seen a goat before), we started making some phone calls. No one near us was missing Buttermilk, which was sad.



Although he was doing a great job of eating the grass around the Pool Garden, Buttermilk didn't seem to know not to munch on our roses and lily leaves and spiderwort. Also the chocolate mint. And the hydrangea leaves. And whatever else he could chomp on. We figured Buttermilk would like a goat-friendly place to live, so we called Peaceful Valley Farm, located south of the Inn, in Old Fort, North Carolina.



John McEntire and his family own Peaceful Valley Farm, which has been in their family for five generations. They make stone ground grits and cornmeal, and they open their farm to kids on field trips from local elementary schools to educate them about the farming lifestyle and the importance of farming. Sounded like the perfect place for Buttermilk!

Mr. McEntire (shown below with Buttermilk and Innkeeper Dave) said he would be happy to have Buttermilk live at the Peaceful Valley Farm, so we headed out to the farm. By 8:00 p.m. Buttermilk was hanging out in his new pen, nibbling on grass, checking out his new goat house and acting very content. We know Buttermilk Biscuit will be one happy goat at Peaceful Valley Farm. Thanks to the McEntire family for helping us to find him a good home!