Northern Cardinal Feeding Lesson

And in the neatest thing we've seen today category...

As a site on the North Carolina Birding Trail, Mountain Region, and being that there are thousands of acres of National Forest surrounding the Inn, we've become used to seeing and hearing quite a few birds, some very common, some not so common. According to the NC Birding Trail Bird Search Database, you can potentially see over 120 species of birds right here at the Inn on Mill Creek:

www.ncbirdingtrail.org/ncbirdingsite2/index.php?action=siteView&site=221

One of our most frequently spotted winged residents is the Northern Cardinal (which happens to be the state bird of both our current home of North Carolina, and our original home state of Ohio). We have one cardinal couple in particular who likes to hang around our bird feeder. They're mainly ground feeders, eating seeds under the feeder that other birds like our Tufted Titmice and Carolina Chickadees toss out. Why go to the trouble of picking seed out of the feeder when other birds do it for you, right?

Today, papa cardinal came by and brought the kids for a lesson in "This bird feeder rarely goes empty thanks to some strange two-legged creature...she even throws seed right on the ground to make it easier for us to get." As mama cardinal plopped down on a tree branch to supervise, the two young cardinals observed the male cardinal for a while and did some of their own seed gathering, then one of them got tired of that, threw a little tantrum and demanded a little assistance.

We got photos of the whole thing and it was pretty entertaining. (Apologies for the grainy photos; we took them through one of the screened windows of the Great Room):







Birders are welcome to make an appointment to come out to the Inn for self-guided birdwatching opportunities. Simply e-mail us or call 828.668.1115 (we're available by phone between 9:30am and 9pm daily). For more information about the North Carolina Birding Trail, visit www.ncbirdingtrail.org.

Congratulations to Ben and Vicki!

Best wishes to Ben and Vicki, who were married at the Inn on Mill Creek on June 22! The lovely couple, who are from the UK, were joined by their friends, Richard and Andrew, who served as witnesses. What a fantastic group! We very much enjoyed having them at the Inn. And we can't wait to see their photos taken by the talented Cristen from Autumn Olive Photography.

Helping to fight global poverty with Kiva

As many of you know, we enjoy assisting small business owners in developing countries through the microlending website Kiva (www.kiva.org). It's one way that regular everyday people like us can band together to fight global poverty by helping others to work toward making their businesses flourish, which helps them lift themselves and their families out of poverty, thereby making a positive impact on their communities and strengthening their local and regional economies.

So here's how microlending through Kiva works: The non-profit organization Kiva partners with microfinance institutions who disburse the loans and act as Kiva's "Field Partners" in each country, finding and gathering information about business owners. Then the volunteer Translators and Editors (one of whom is your very own Innkeeper Brigette) do their work -- translating loans into English, checking for grammar and readability, making sure loan information matches up and the photos of the business owners are clear -- and send the descriptions on their way to get posted to the website, where lenders from all over the globe can browse and find a business owner to help.

What we like about Kiva is that it's more of an empowerment tool than a handout or charity. Lenders choose their borrower, lend anywhere from $25 up to the amount of the loan, and Kiva disburses the funds to the Field Partner to replenish the loan made to the borrower. The borrower pays back the loan over time, the funds are returned to Kiva and Kiva repays the lenders, who can then reloan the money to a new entrepreneur, make a donation to Kiva or retrieve their money.

We choose to reloan the funds that we put into Kiva at the beginning of our loaning experience, and we just recently heard that three of our borrowers have repaid the remainder of their loans: Ali, who owns an aluminum installation business and is trying to make a positive impact in his corner of the globe, our ambitious group of ladies who sell kites in Pakistan, led by Kosar Parveen, and Rohullamen, who has one of our favorite stories. From our November 8, 2008, blog posting:

Rohullamen, 33, is married and supports his entire family (wife, parents and three siblings). He's committed to growing the general store that he owns so that he can send his younger brothers and sister to school, where they can get an education and become successful, too. We appreciate that determination and bright, positive outlook on the future, especially given the fragile state of Afghanistan and since it wasn't too long ago that Rohullamen's sister would not be able to go to school at all because she's a girl.

Since we had enough in our "Kiva bank", as we call it, to lend to a new entrepreneur this week, we headed out to the Kiva website and found Kivelyo (pictured above), a single woman in Kenya, who used to sell secondhand clothes until deciding to start a scrap metal business on her own. Kivelyo not only faces the challenge of being a woman business owner in a developing country, but also has to deal with thieves. Undeterred by these obstacles, she obtained a loan to expand her business, which includes hiring unskilled laborers. We, along with 36 other lenders from San Francisco to Switzerland financed the loan. We like that Kivelyo is forward thinking when it comes to her business goals -- she hopes to open up her own shop one day. We hope she's able to do that and wish her the best!

Mid-June Blooms

As we head into summer next week, we hope you enjoy these latest blooms at the Inn -- now in bloom are roses, calla lilies, daylilies, lavender, yarrow, hydrangeas, butterfly bush, and the first of our bee balm (red) and coneflowers.

First Annual WNC Highlands Celtic Festival

We recently learned of a new event taking place in our neck of the woods this year. Pisgah Brewing Company in Black Mountain will be hosting the First Annual WNC Highlands Celtic Festival, a brand new event, presented by Celtic Heritage Productions and endorsed as one of many local events that are part of the Blue Ridge Parkway's 75th anniversary celebration.



The Celtic Festival, taking place June 18-19, will feature two days of live musical performances, including the Montreat Scottish Pipers and Drums, Celtic dance demonstrations and heavy athletics. You'll also be able to browse the wares of Celtic vendors and enjoy Celtic food and beverages. Plus, if you're part of a Scottish clan, six of them will be convening at the festival. The cost for both days is just $10.

See a list of all bands (with links to their websites), all vendors, names of the Scottish clans that will be convening, and more at www.celticheritageproductions.com/wnc.htm.

Blue Ridge Parkway Hike to Green Knob Fire Tower

Last Saturday, we enjoyed the afternoon with a drive 12 miles up the curvy and scenic Highway 80 through our county, McDowell County, to the Blue Ridge Parkway and to a hike we recently read about -- from the Green Knob overlook up to an old fire tower on top of Green Knob itself. We were excited about this hike in particular, because you can see the peak of Green Knob rising through a picture-perfect break in the trees at the top of our orchard here at the Inn on Mill Creek:



Green Knob is one of several scenic overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and is located at Milepost 350.4. The overlook is around 4,760 feet above sea level and the top of Green Knob is over 5,000 feet in elevation, so the views from both the overlook and the fire tower at the top are pretty spectacular. Here's our late Spring view from the overlook:



To get to the fire tower on Green Knob, park at the Green Knob overlook and head right/north (with the overlook at your back). A little ways up the Parkway and across the road will be the Forest Service's trailhead marker for Green Knob; the trail is quite narrow at the start. (The trail is blazed in yellow so watch for yellow markings on the trees to guide you.)



We took the innpugs, Csaba and Bugsy, and we estimate the majority of the trail is about a Csaba-and-a-half wide. Here's a photo of our fawn "measuring stick" for perspective:



You'll reach the old fire tower after about a half mile, on a trail surrounded by rhododendron thickets, mountain laurel, ferns and other beautiful foliage.



Climb the stairs to the tower (used by the Forest Service from the 1930s until the '70s) and enjoy 360-degree views of our mountain range, the Black Mountains. Mt. Mitchell, the Craggies, Grandfather Mountain, Table Rock... they're all visible from the fire tower. Here's the view of Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak in the eastern United States (please forgive the hazy shot; the clouds started coming in over Mt. Mitchell just as we climbed the tower):



The Green Knob hike on the Blue Ridge Parkway is a great hike for late Spring and in the summertime because the higher elevations along the Parkway are typically 10-15 degrees cooler than lower elevations around Black Mountain and Asheville, and you'll be in the shade for the most part during this hike. Do take water because it is a half-mile climb to the tower, and be prepared for very quick changes in the weather at this elevation.

We hope to get back to the fire tower soon. The innpugs thoroughly enjoyed it (and yes, Csaba's "rogue tongue" is that long and hangs out the side of his mouth just like that after a hike and a big drink of water).

Early June Blooms at the Inn

Along with our roses, we've got some early June blooms to share with you, like our Astilbe peeking out among daylily leaves in the Pool Garden pictured above. Also currently in bloom are plants and flowers such as Catmint, the first of our Daylilies, Lavender, Spanish Iris, Geraniums, Coral Bells, and Coreopsis. Enjoy some photos we took just this week (and more are available as always on our B&B Facebook Page):











Just starting to bloom or very soon to bloom: Daylilies, Hydrangea, Butterfly Bush, Coneflowers and Daisies. It's going to be a lovely summer here in the mountains near Black Mountain, Asheville and Old Fort, North Carolina.

[P.S. Happy Anniversary to three of our favorite couples: Rudy and Vicki, Tony and Renee, and Carson and Laura!]

Inside at the North Carolina Arboretum

Since our Bed & Breakfast is located in a "green as far as the eye can see", nature-laden, outdoorsy area, most people want to be outside while they're here. But we've had some rainy days lately, prompting some guests to ask, "What can we see indoors?"

Several area attractions offer both indoor and outdoor experiences so if the occasional pop-up rainstorm happens (and our apologies because Innkeeper Brigette requested some of the rain for her garden plants), then you can be inside and stay dry until the sunny skies return. One such place is the North Carolina Arboretum, located just southwest of Asheville, near the Blue Ridge Parkway.


Two indoor venues near the gardens at the Arboretum
Image from the Arboretum Trail Map

Not only does the NC Arboretum have several nature trails and gardens on 434 acres, but there are indoor exhibits as well. From now through mid-August, you can see two exhibits: Balance and Beauty: A Visual Celebration of Rural Life features the work of artist Margaret Scanlan from Tennessee in the Arboretum's Baker Center, while in the Baker Exhibit Greenhouse, Living Color: A Color Study Illustrated with Plants is a learning exhibit showcasing a color wheel made of flowering plants. That sounds pretty cool.

Also, starting this month, the Education Center at the Arboretum will house an exhibit called Art in Bloom. From June 5 through July 25, you can see floral paintings by artist Marjorie Renfroe, who also writes nature poetry.

To see these great indoor exhibits, you need only to pay the nominal parking fee, which goes toward making the North Carolina Arboretum the fabulous and enjoyable place it is. And if it's sunny while you're there, be sure to note the outdoor botanical sculptures by Elizabeth Scofield and Jason S. Brown, now on display through next February.