The Inn on Mill Creek Innblog

Where Did Winter Go?

2012-01-30T17:25:00.000-05:00

Where is winter? {Not that we're complaining!} These little guys popped out of the ground at the Inn today...

Crocuses! A month early.

Listen up, crocuses, it's not even February yet. But it's OK because you brought a smile to our faces. Now we're looking forward to Spring even more.

A Handful of 2012 Celestial Events

2012-01-28T19:24:00.001-05:00

Mother Nature serves us up a good helping of dark night sky in Pisgah National Forest, thanks to zero street lights on our road and our location two miles within Pisgah National Forest, between two ridgelines that block a lot of the small town night lighting around us. So we like to provide a little calendar each year of what stargazing guests at the Inn on Mill Creek might see, other than the Milky Way (which, by the way, is awesome on a dark clear night flowing across the sky from the Lake House to the Main House).

Below are some of the more common celestial events going on this year. {For the first half of the year, we bring you more details for each event, linked to a great reference site for stargazers, http://earthsky.org.}

The Geminids Meteor Shower...don't miss it in December!
[Photo Credit: Wikipedia]

Late February: All five visible planets in the sky. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, all visible to the naked eye, will be present in the sky in late February, at different times in the evening. {More details}

March 14: Venus and Jupiter at conjunction. Venus and Jupiter will be hanging together in the western sky, just three degrees apart, after sunset. You'll actually be able to see them in conjunction (meaning really close together) throughout mid-March, so if March 14 ends up being a cloudy night, look up on the evenings thereafter. And check the sky on March 25 for the crescent moon to be part of the show. {More details}

April 21-22: Lyrids Meteor Shower. Good news...no moon this year during the Lyrids means you may see up to 20 meteors per hour at peak time, after midnight and before dawn. {More details}

May 4-6: Eta Aquarids Meteor Shower. This meteor shower always takes place on Brigette's birthday, so even though it's typically one of the lesser shooting star shows -- and this year will likely be outshown by the largest full moon of 2012 -- it's still special to us. Look east to the constellation Aquarius after midnight. {More details}

May 20: Partial Solar Eclipse. We'll be treated to a partial solar eclipse in our hemisphere on the afternoon of May 20. {More details}

June 4: Partial Lunar Eclipse. Just before the sun comes up on June 4, we'll see a partial lunar eclipse as Earth gets between the sun and the moon. {More details}

July 28-29: Southern Delta Aquarids Meteor Shower. If the skies are clear to the east after midnight, look up and you could possibly see up to 20 meteors per hour at the peak of this meteor shower.

August 12-13: Perseids Meteor Shower. After midnight, look to the constellation Perseus in the northeast for this fantastic meteor shower, which can produce up to 60 meteors per hour during the peak dates in August.

October 21-22: Orionids Meteor Shower. Best viewing for the Orionids is the eastern sky after midnight. This meteor shower does not produce as big a show as the Perseids, but the sky will be dark, and if it's clear, you may catch some shooting stars.

November 17-18: Leonids Meteor Shower. The Leonids can produce 40 meteors per hour after midnight at their peak dates in November, streaming from the constellation Leo. Every 33 years, the peak brings hundreds of meteors each hour, but the most recent year for that was 2001, so we have several years until the next really big show.

December 13-14: Geminids Meteor Shower. Don't let December's brisk evening temperatures keep you from heading outdoors to catch this stellar meteor shower coming from the constellation Gemini in the eastern sky. You might see upwards of a hundred shooting stars each hour after midnight under optimal conditions. And there's no moon this year during the peak, so skies will be dark.

Finally, how can we close this post without mentioning the ISS -- International Space Station -- crossing over the Inn at different hours during different days each month, sometimes at night where it is clearly visible, a non-blinking bright white light moving slowly and steadily across the night sky. The ISS will be headed over us pre-sunrise on January 31, around 6:45am, and just before 6am on February 1. After that, the next nighttime viewing will be at 7:43pm on February 9. You can track the ISS going over your house at http://spaceflight1.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings.

Some Garden Brainstorming

2012-01-19T21:20:00.001-05:00

We've been told our property has been a private property since at least the 1880s -- prior to that, it was government land -- and the original structure was a little cabin that sat on the pond. The little cabin no longer exists, but the well (with nonworking pump) still does. When we arrived in 2007, growing around the well was some yarrow and a swath of dianthus, both of which we moved to other gardens. We {Brigette} have tried out some different plants, such as lavender and purple coneflower, but we just haven't found the right combination of flowers for that sunny spot. We've planted two dogwoods near the well, so we have spring color covered. We need something for summer and fall, and maybe winter, too...

So this year, we're thinking of something evergreen in the boxwood family -- short ones -- planted in a circle around the well pump. And inside the circle, we're thinking of trying roses, since they bloom through November here in our neck of the woods.

Perhaps a formal look combined with a free flowing look, a little bit like this:

So that's our current idea...which may very well change next week. The boxwoods might get switched out with another evergreen shrub. Dahlias are also tempting in place of the roses, even though they would have a later bloom time...what do you think?

Winter does have its advantages, including allowing plenty of time to brainstorm about flowers!

Now on to planning our vegetable garden...

2012 Winter Savings on Biltmore Tickets

2012-01-12T15:30:00.000-05:00

If Mother Nature's favorite colors on her paint palette right now are brown tones where you live, look no further for a color {and flower!} fix than Biltmore Estate, the entrance of which is about 20 minutes west of the Inn on Mill Creek. The Biltmore Conservatory, a short walk from Biltmore House, is an indoor oasis, loaded floor to ceiling with trees and tropical plants. Plus, winter is the perfect time to see all of Biltmore's orchids in bloom, such as the one above. They're special enough that they get their own room in the Conservatory!

Guests of the Inn on Mill Creek can purchase tickets during their stay for $35 from now through March! That's a $10 discount off the regular one-day gated admission at Biltmore. And check out these other perks of visiting Biltmore during the winter season with tickets purchased from the Inn:

Visit Biltmore at your leisure. It is 8,000 acres after all. So here's great news: you can use your ticket any day that you're staying with us, and you can return to Biltmore the following day for FREE.
Our guests who visit Biltmore from now through March receive FREE audio guides to Biltmore House. This is a great amenity for first-time visitors to Biltmore because it's like having your very own tour guide as you make your way through the house. And if you've been to Biltmore before, take note that they do change the audio information from time to time.
The fourth floor, which is normally part of a behind-the-scenes specialty tour, is OPEN. This is the floor where the rooms for the female household staff were located, the Architectural Model Room, containing the rather large scale model of Biltmore House created by the architect, and the Observatory, which we hear is where Mr. Vanderbilt would steal away and read as well as take his guests to show them magnificent mountain views, and where visitors now gain access to the roof for the Architect's Tour during warm months.
Kids under the age of 16 are admitted FREE through March

In addition, the fabulous Tiffany lamp exhibit at Biltmore {featuring lamps such as the Pond Lily Globe below} wraps up January 31...also a great way to infuse your winter day with a little color!

Geocaching on Vacation

2012-01-07T18:05:00.003-05:00

We often say that it's easy for us innkeepers to have "vacation brain" being in the mountains near Asheville and Black Mountain, North Carolina. The area just has a serene quality to it with an easygoing vibe, laid back people, wonderful restaurants and places to go, and stunningly beautiful scenery such as this view nearby, just off the Blue Ridge Parkway (summertime):

Asheville (and surrounding Western North Carolina) is well-known for being tops on lists of places travelers should see, a top food and wine destination, the number one small city for art, one of the most beautiful places in America, and an all-around awesome vacation spot. So it's no surprise that one of the questions we get asked the most at the Inn on Mill Creek is, "Where do you go for vacation?" And while we do sometimes feel like we are on perpetual vacation simply due to the fact that we live in a vacation destination, we do have an answer.

Last month, we did our own little getaway to Tybee Island, a very small barrier island off of Savannah, Ga. Have you been there? If not, we highly recommend it. We had a wonderful time with the innpugs walking around Tybee, collecting seashells on the beach (sans dogs, who aren't allowed on the beach; Tybee has two parks for four-legged family members), relaxing, and, oh yes, we did some geocaching while we were there, picking up ten finds, one of which was at the lighthouse, pictured below.

{We took this shot on December 14...what a gorgeous day it was for relaxing and geocaching. And the roses were blooming, which definitely put a smile on our faces!}

If you've not heard of geocaching, check out a few of our previous blog posts about geocaching in Western North Carolina and visit www.geocaching.com to see what it's all about. It's such a great way to explore new places and a fun hobby, which makes it a perfect vacation activity. And there's certainly no shortage of geocaches to find in the Asheville, Black Mountain and Old Fort area...at last count, there were more than 100 caches within five miles of the Inn on Mill Creek, including a 25-cache series along the Forest Service Roads around the Inn.

And here's a clever series near Lake Lure and Chimney Rock State Park, about 30 minutes south of us. The green boxes are regular caches and the orange dots making the smiley face are individual caches that are visible to premium members of Geocaching.com. We've never seen anything like this on the geocaching maps -- very cool to us nerdy geocachers!

So if you're a seasoned geocacher, new to the sport, or want to try it out while you're staying with us, let us know and we'll help you with getting a list of good caches nearby.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

2011-12-30T08:57:00.000-05:00

We had a blast during the 2011 Black Mountain B&B Visions of Sugarplums Christmas Cookie Tour! It was great meeting visitors to the Inn on Mill Creek and sharing our little neck of the woods -- and our cookies! We had the awesome Jo Northup performing on hammered dulcimer and flute for guests. And the tour benefited a wonderful charity, the Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry, which provides local residents and stranded travelers with basic and emergency assistance. The SVCM has a food pantry, coordinates the Meals on Wheels program, works with the local homeless shelter, helps those in need with critical financial assistance, and aids in finding job opportunities, job training and educational advancement. Their work is so important in our community and we're extremely grateful to everyone who bought tickets to the Cookie Tour to help out this great group of volunteers.

This being our first Cookie Tour, we wanted to do a cookie that was special, and yummy of course! When thinking of ingredients, two of our favorite things are chocolate and mint. Put them together and you have a cool cookie combo. And you know we like to share, so here is our recipe for Mint Chocolate Chip cookies!

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
from the Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast
Prep+bake time: 50 minutes (cookies); 5 minutes (frosting) / Makes 4 dozen

Cookie Ingredients

1 1/4 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Frosting Ingredients
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon milk
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 drop green food coloring

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
Beat in eggs, one at a time
Stir in vanilla and peppermint extract
In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt
Add dry ingredient mixture into butter/egg/sugar mixture and mix well
Stir in chocolate chips with a spoon
Place dough in refrigerator and cool for 30 minutes
Roll dough into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet; flatten with glass or back of spoon
Bake 8-10 minutes; cookies will be soft when removed from oven
Cool for 5 minutes on sheet; transfer to wire racks to finish cooling
Mix frosting ingredients together (adding add'l tsp of milk will make thinner icing if desired)
Frost cookies and cool in refrigerator for 30 minutes to set frosting

Our 2011 Ends with 32 Kiva Loans

2011-12-23T10:38:00.000-05:00

In 2011, we were able to fund six entrepreneurs from developing countries through the microlending site Kiva, bringing our total number of loans to 32! Three of our 32 borrowers -- Nelva, David and Reina -- recently paid off their loans (although because of "currency exchange loss", meaning the value of the dollar appreciated 20% or more against the currency of our borrower's country during the loan payoff time, David's loan was considered to be 99% paid off when all was said and done). Since we choose to relend our money once it becomes available again, we had enough to pick two more borrowers from opposite sides of the globe:

Paula lives in Bolivia and is a weaver by trade, making blankets and gloves with wool and yarn. With the help of 28 lenders, Paula is getting a loan to purchase wool in different textures and colors in order to continue on in her small business. We love the fact that Paula is succeeding in handmade craftwork because that is a trade that is very important and has a rich heritage right here in the Appalachians and Western North Carolina.

Oleg is a flower vendor and has his own vending section on the flower aisle at the local market in the town where he lives in Ukraine. With the loan money contributed by 70 lenders from around the world, including us, Oleg will be able to buy more flowers, sell more, and grow his business. The fact that he sells flowers and Brigette constantly has gardening on the brain made him an easy choice.

We're excited to see how many small business owners we can help out in 2012, as we continue being part of the fight with Kiva against global poverty. To learn more about Kiva, visit www.kiva.org.

2011 Black Mountain Bed & Breakfast Cookie Tour is December 10-11

2011-11-18T14:24:00.001-05:00

Who wants cookies? We are so very excited to be part of the first Visions of Sugar Plums Christmas Cookie Tour of Black Mountain area B&Bs! Nine inns and bed & breakfasts will be participating the weekend of December 10 & December 11 from noon to 4pm (our B&B will be on the tour on December 10). This means visitors will be able to get nine uniquely awesome cookie recipes and sample the cookies while checking out each Black Mountain area B&B decorated for the holidays.

Tickets are $15 through the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce and benefit the Swannanoa Valley Christian Ministry, a non-profit organization consisting of a team of churches, staff and volunteers who provide basic needs, financial assistance and emergency relief to those experiencing hardship. Additionally, they assist with coordinating special services in the community like Meals on Wheels, the Adopt A Family program, minor home repairs, holiday food baskets, providing educational and job training scholarships through the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Kiwanis Foundation, and working with Job Link.

And here's a sweet deal for our guests: All guests of the Inn on Mill Creek who make a two night reservation (Friday/Saturday) during the Cookie Tour weekend will receive FREE tickets for the Cookie Tour and recipe cards for all the cookies!

What kind of cookies will we be making, you ask? A hint -- Mint. Chocolate. Chip.

View 2011 Black Mountain B&B Cookie Tour in a larger map

2011 Fall Foliage Report, NC Mountains: Week 5

2011-10-25T15:44:00.000-04:00

This year, week 5 is peak fall foliage week here in our neck of the woods near Black Mountain and Asheville (we're at 2,300 feet above sea level). The photo above is of Horse Ridge above our orchard.

Gorgeous oranges seem to be the dominating colors this week, brought to us by lots maples. Surprisingly, several maple and oak trees are still green! Still plenty of yellow as well with hickory and beech retaining their leaves. But many trees, including sourwoods and tulip poplars, have shed their leaves for the year. Here's a half-changed maple tree at the Inn, and below that is Mill Creek behind Andrews Geyser, about 6 minutes from the Inn:

Places we'd recommend visiting during peak week (generally October 21-31) include:

Biltmore Estate - This is a great week to do the Architect's Tour at Biltmore House, where you head out onto the roof for a breath-taking perspective of the mountains
Montreat - Several hikes, such as Lookout Mountain, are perfect for seeing expansive views of the Black Mountains
Highway 221 east of the Inn, in Marion - this scenic route will take you to the Blue Ridge Parkway near Grandfather Mountain (past peak at this point), but also leads to Highway 226, where seven miles north of Marion is Tom's Creek Falls, a lovely two-mile roundtrip waterfall trail through a picturesque wooded area.
North Carolina Arboretum - with ten miles of trails, including the 1.3-mile Bent Creek Trail through beautiful forest along Bent Creek, you can't go wrong at the Arboretum if leaf-peeping is what you want to do.

Good Stuff Going on in Black Mountain This Weekend

2011-10-25T07:45:00.000-04:00

We just took a quick glance at this weekend's lineup of events and, well, there is a lot going on in the always-charming town of Black Mountain this weekend! Still lots of color on the trees and time to enjoy it...here's what happening:

Gallery Show, Oct 28 (and continuing through Nov 23) - The Black Mountain Center for the Arts is hosting a juried exhibit by the Appalachian Pastel Society. The gallery's regular hours are Mon/Tue/Wed/Fri from 10am-5-pm and Thursdays from 11am-3pm.

CRUZ-N/Car Show, Oct 29 - On the last Saturday of the month, you can see classic cars, antiques, truck and motorcycles at this cruise-in event. This is the final CRUZ-N/Car Show of the season. More details available at www.exploreblackmountain.com.

Free wine tasting at Merry Wine Market, Oct 29 - The Merry Wine Market is one of our favorite little shops in the heart of downtown Black Mountain. The owners and staff are both knowledgeable and super friendly and they have 'casual and complimentary' wine tastings every Saturday from 5pm to 7pm from fall through late December. And those tastings feature pairings as well...for example, last week's tasting featured cuisine from an Inn on Mill Creek guest favorite, Que Sera.

9th Annual Howl-O-Ween Pet Parade, Oct 29 - In a town where you can take your dog inside some of the shops as well as to eat out at many of the restaurants that have outdoor patios, it is no surprise that Black Mountain has a pet parade! See pooches in costume with their people at 3pm on Cherry Street. There will also be a costume contest ($5 to enter your pet in the contest; the parade is free to enter). Check with June at Visions of Creation for more info.

Black Mountain Tailgate Market, Oct 29 - This is the last day of the 2011 Black Mountain Tailgate Market, and in conjunction with the regular market, where you can find great locally grown food and meats, local arts and crafts, and more, the BM Tailgate Market will hold its second annual Harvest Fair from 9am to noon:

And when you visit Black Mountain, look for several outdoor sculptures done by local artists that add to the beauty of the town, all part of the Black Mountain Sculpture Stroll this fall and winter!

2011 Fall Foliage Report, NC Mountains: Week 4

2011-10-18T10:28:00.000-04:00

Week 4 was one of those weeks where you could step outside every morning and noticeably see color change from the day before. This has truly been one of the better fall foliage seasons in the mountains of Western North Carolina since we arrived almost five years ago. {wow, time flies!}

In terms of color change, a gusty evening sent to the ground most of the tulip poplar leaves that had changed. However, golden tones were still very present in hickory and beech trees, and the maples are starting to give us some really good color as well in reds and oranges to spice up the fall color palette a little. Still waiting on most of the oaks!

We had a bit of a challenge this week with our phones being out. Thank goodness for e-mail! We appreciate everyone's patience as the phone situation was worked out and the *ring ring* is back in working order. So enjoy these photos from our neck of the woods, specifically the Point Lookout Trail near the Inn, during the fourth week of fall foliage in the North Carolina mountains.

2011 Fall Foliage Report, NC Mountains: Week 3

2011-10-11T22:27:00.005-04:00

Getting gorgeous here! Oh, mountain autumn, how we love you so. We're being treated to a brilliant fall this year thanks to Mother Nature. Sourwoods and dogwoods are in full color mode. And it seems like some trees in our neck of the woods are changing earlier than the past three years, including hickory, beeches and sassafras (one of Brigette's favorites):

Others, like some of the maple trees, are just getting their fall color engines revved up.

Oaks and maples are sure to give us lots of color this year later in the month. We can't wait!

The peaks above Black Mountain and Montreat (10-15 minutes from the Inn on Mill Creek) at the 3,500-5,000-foot elevation range are getting quite colorful, and so this week, we recommend a nice stroll around Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain or Lake Susan in Montreat, where you can view the mountains reflected in the water and just sit for a while and enjoy the surroundings. Here's Lake Tomahawk this week:

If you want to get out and do some hiking, two trails to see color this week are Lookout Mountain in Montreat, which takes you up a half-mile trail to a fantastic overlook with views of the Black Mountains (we'll call them the "Golden Reddish Orange" Mountains this month!), and the Craggy Pinnacle Trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway. The trailhead for Lookout Mountain is about 15 minutes from the Inn, while the trailhead parking lot for Craggy Pinnacle is about 40 minutes' drive (mostly along the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway).

Stop by the blog next week when we'll be closer to peak color at our elevation as the color washes down the mountains.

2011 Fall Foliage Report, NC Mountains: Week 2

2011-10-04T18:20:00.001-04:00

Forsythia

Our second week of fall foliage started off a bit chilly (highs in the 50s!) and a return to fireplaces and hot chocolate (yay!). Now we're heading back into warmer temperatures and noticeably more color change at higher elevations, 4,000+ feet. {For example, check out this stunning photo from Grandfather Mountain taken by Helen Moss Davis...wow!}

Here are our elevation (2,300 ft), the rosy reds of sourwoods, sourgums and sumac, along with virginia creeper and burning bushes, are really starting to pop out. A few purplish sweetgums were also spotted this week, surrounded by green. Also, goldenrod is showing off its yellow blossoms in several areas to match some of the tulip poplars, birches and hickory trees. Beech trees are also starting to change a little faster.

But trees are still "mostly green" at our elevation and we suggest traveling a little bit higher up if you want to see more than just a splash here and there. Check out Green Knob, a peak on the Blue Ridge Parkway visible from the orchard at the Inn on Mill Creek (photo taken at sunset)...see, there's definitely color at the higher elevations!

So if you'll be planning a trip to our neck of the woods this week and next, we recommend heading on scenic Highway 80 through McDowell County east of the Inn, up to the Blue Ridge Parkway. From there, head north to the Linville Falls or Grandfather Mountain {I mean, have you looked at this photo yet? Spectacular!} and enjoy Carolina blue sunshine, fresh air and early fall outdoors in the mountains.

East of Asheville Studio Tour Expands to Old Fort

2011-09-28T13:57:00.000-04:00

The beautiful work of EAST artist Rebecca King

The East of Asheville Studio Tour is a great way to meet local artists as they invite you to the studios where their art is created. The free self-guided studio tour takes place twice a year, in Spring and Fall. You can visit as many of the studios as you like over a two-day period.

The next studio tour will be October 15-16 (10am-6pm), coinciding with American Craft Week, and includes artists in Black Mountain, Swannanoa, Fairview, East Asheville and newly added Old Fort. There are 35 stops on the tour, with a chance to see such art as pottery, sculpture, fiber, paper, painting, woodworking and wood sculpture, basketry, mixed media, jewelry, iron and steel, glass and more.

We think the EAST event is fantastic and we're happy to be counted among their sponsors.

For more information, including artist backgrounds and a tour map, see www.eaststudiotour.com.

2011 Fall Foliage Report, NC Mountains: Week 1

2011-09-27T20:35:00.002-04:00

Our 2011 leaf reports for our neck of the woods in the western North Carolina mountains have begun! Hope you're all enjoying autumn so far. We've had some rain for the past few days, but today was sunny and beautiful and we hope for more of that Carolina blue sky as fall really gets underway over the next several weeks.

This year's fall season is brand spanking new, which means the color has only just started at our elevation (2,300 feet above sea level). We've noticed that many of the trees are starting to lighten up, which means color is on its way. But truly, this is the time in the season when a single tree will decide that it's time to show off its scarlet or golden tones while all the other trees around it are still green. For example, here's a sourwood tree that is always one of the first trees to change at the Inn:

Trees to look out for this week and next week include the "early changers" such as sourwoods, dogwoods and tulip poplars. Here at the Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast near Black Mountain and Asheville, we count our butternut trees as early changers as well:

We're also starting to see a lot of the birch and beech trees starting to rapidly turn yellow, which is a little early compared to years' past. It's nice to see their sunny tones this time of year!

Unfortunately, the tulip poplars are having another tough autumn, likely related to drought conditions according to some experts. The leaves are browning quickly, so they get a pass and we'll hope to see their bright and brilliant yellows next year.

The best places to spot the beginnings of the fall color show are along the higher elevations on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We recommend heading north on the Parkway and visiting the highest peak in the eastern United States, Mt. Mitchell, which at almost 6,700 feet, has evergreen trees, but provides a vantage point for looking at the beautiful peaks around it that might be starting to change. Also, Grandfather Mountain, popular with our hiking and birding guests, is reporting the mountain ash berries are a sight to see.

Have a great rest of the week and we'll see you next Tuesday here at the blog for week 2!

Drive the McDowell Quilt Trail and see...100 quilt blocks!

2011-09-25T18:01:00.000-04:00

It's no secret that we're big fans of small towns. We can rave for hours about the charming, laid back small towns near our Bed & Breakfast -- Black Mountain, Montreat, Chimney Rock, Old Fort, etc. Our small towns are one of the reasons we love living here and one of the reasons people love coming to visit our area.

The value placed on having a strong sense of community in western North Carolina small towns is so unique in this day and age, and truly special. Local businesses run by local residents are the norm around here. Waving or saying hello to people (friends and strangers alike) that you pass on the sidewalk, also the norm. Small town parades and street festivals and farmers' markets and other fantastic community events...the norm. An emphasis on keeping the charm of today's small towns intact, very much the norm.

So it was very cool but no surprise when one of our nearby small towns, Old Fort, was host to a special community-wide ceremony on September 23, to commemorate the 100th quilt block on the McDowell Quilt Trail. Sponsored by the McDowell Arts Council Association, the McDowell Quilt Trail -- a driving trail to view painted quilt blocks on buildings in our county -- was established in June of 2009. Our community, proud of its Appalachian arts heritage and supportive of the preservation of that heritage and supportive of community projects, jumped on board very quickly and the Quilt Trail Committee began installing the first quilt blocks in September of that year.

In just two short years, the Quilt Trail has grown by leaps and bounds, with blocks appearing on businesses, homes, schools, churches, libraries, as well as government and community buildings, and the 100th block has now made its debut! Located on the Mountain Gateway Museum and Heritage Center in downtown Old Fort, the block is a Log Cabin quilt pattern. The museum, originally a community building, opened to the public as a museum in 1971. The grounds of the museum along Mill Creek include two log cabins dating back to the mid-1800s.

If you're interested in seeing quilt blocks on display while you're in our neck of the woods, the closest to the Inn on Mill Creek include our own two on the north and south sides of the Lake House (#22 and #23 on the Quilt Trail), as well as the blocks in Old Fort at the woodworking shop, the railroad depot, Town Hall, the Rockett Building (site of Old Fort Mountain Music on Friday nights), the library and of course the museum.

Latest Kiva Loan: And Ivanna Makes 30

2011-09-21T19:45:00.003-04:00

We've reached a sort of milestone with our four-year Kiva experience. Drum roll... 30 loans! For those of you unfamiliar with Kiva, it's a non-profit organization that helps people to participate in microloans (usually $25 per lender) to small business owners who typically live in developing countries (and Kiva now allows loans to American entrepreneurs as well). Your $25 gets pooled with lenders from all over the world to fund a loan that can be hundreds or thousands of dollars. {For more about Kiva, visit www.kiva.org and for more of our experiences with Kiva, check out our previous blog posts.}

Since we last shared with you about our Kiva loans in May, the borrowers that we've supported have been steadily paying back their loans. Arif and Byambajargal paid their loans back completely (congrats!) and three others are close to paying off their loans, which has allowed us to use that money to fund three more borrowers. Here are our latest three:

Rasif in Azerbaijan is a welder and a previous Kiva helped him to open up his own shop. The loan we helped fund is going toward helping Rasif purchase materials to keep up with high demand so that he can continue on a path toward success and lifting his family out of poverty.

Gia is from the country of Georgia and he and his family (parents, wife and children, and brother) all live together. Besides working in a glass shop, Gia helps his family with a huge citrus crop endeavor and he owns a beekeeping business and that's the business he wants to expand with Kiva's help. We thought that was pretty cool, to fund a loan for bee hives and bee colonies, so Gia became our 29th entrepreneur. Building on his business will help Gia to improve his family's living conditions, which we're really excited about.

Our 30th loan goes to Ivanna in Ukraine. When we saw the shoes, we (Brigette) said, this girl is getting a loan. Ivanna rents space in a warehouse and sells shoes based on seasonal demand (e.g., sandals in the summer and boots in the fall). Currently, she buys her shoes from a middleman, but she would like save on her business expenses by traveling to the wholesaler to buy directly from the wholesaler. Smart lady.

So there you have it, our 28th, 29th and 30th Kiva loans.We look forward to sharing number 31 soon!

American Craft Week 2011 is October 7-16

2011-09-18T15:34:00.001-04:00

Mountain Made gallery in the Grove Arcade (www.grovearcade.com)

Since we love being in western North Carolina, which is full of talented people who make hand-crafted items, and being that we're big believers in supporting our local artisans and craftspeople, we're excited to share what will be going on in our area during American Craft Week, October 7-16, 2011.

What is American Craft Week? For ten days in October, local communities all over the country give a nod to locally handmade crafts, holding special events for the public to be able to learn all about American craft up close.

For example, on Saturday, October 8, Several of our local shops in the town of Black Mountain will be holding craft demonstrations and other celebrations of American Craft Week. Black Mountain Yarn Shop, Gingko Tree Gallery, Visions of Creation and the Black Mountain Center for the Arts are just a few of the places where you can see local crafts at their finest. And venues like White Horse Black Mountain and Monte Vista Hotel will be hosting craft workers' demonstrations during the Craft Demonstration Day on October 8.

In Asheville, the Southern Highland Craft Guild, the Grove Arcade and several other galleries will share in the celebration of American Craft Week with demonstrations and other events.

In McDowell County, you can make an appointment to visit Turtle Island Pottery's showroom in Old Fort during American Craft Week (and they'll be at a festival in nearby Waynesville on October 8). In Marion, the Mountain Glory Quilter's Guild will be hosting its annual quilt show at the McDowell Arts Council Association Gallery. Additionally, McDowell County has its own Quilt Trail, a driving trail of quilt blocks painted by local artists and installed on businesses {two blocks are right here at the Inn on Mill Creek}, schools, libraries, residences and other buildings throughout the county. There are almost 100 quilt blocks on the trail!

Finally, the East of Asheville Studio Tour takes place during the final days of American Craft Week. We'll be making a special blog post to tell you all about that fantastic (and free!) studio tour event.

Honey Lime Fresh Fruit Cocktail

2011-08-31T19:00:00.001-04:00

Our latest recipe is a super easy and great-tasting fruit side for breakfast, and you can modify the fruit depending on what's in season. For example, the photo above is our mid-summer version with strawberries, blueberries, peaches, cantaloupe and green grapes. We tend to use 4-5 different fruits in our cocktail for variety and color.You can also vary the kind of honey. We tend toward our local sweet stuff -- sourwood honey -- but wildflower honey and orange honey and just plain honey honey work great.

Honey Lime Fresh Fruit Cocktail
from the Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast
Prep time: 10 minutes / Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients (mid-summer version)

1 Peach

2 Slices of Cantaloupe

Grapes (seedless)

Blueberries

Strawberries

1 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp lime juice

Other fruits that work well based on what's in season: Pineapple, kiwi, pears, plums, apricots, clementine oranges

Directions

Slice fruit into bite size pieces (we also halve our grapes lengthwise); exception: blueberries
Place fruit into individual ramekins or into a medium sized bowl
In a small bowl, mix honey and lime juice well
Drizzle honey lime liquid onto fruit if in ramekins; stir in if using a medium sized bowl

Late Summer Day at Biltmore 2011

2011-08-25T17:29:00.006-04:00

Oh, Biltmore Estate, how we love visiting you! On this most recent visit, we were enchanted by the Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass traveling exhibit,Tiffany Lamps: Articles of Utility, Objects of Art, and all the things at the Estate that are just pure Biltmore.

For example, we enjoyed seeing the Tiffany-inspired stained glass butterfly and dragonfly garden stakes in several planters around the gardens and at Antler Hill Village.

And of course, wouldn't you know it, we saw the real thing, too:

The walk through the pretty Walled Garden full of flowering annuals shaped into dragonflies with 40-foot wingspans led us to one of our favorite current, Tiffany-inspired, displays on the Estate, the Living Wall, which is next to Brigette's favorite spot, the Conservatory.

The Tiffany at Biltmore Exhibition (running through October 23) at Antler Hill Village was amazing, too. Seeing 45 stunning Tiffany lamps in all shapes, styles and sizes up close was a real treat. Our favorite lamps were the Dragonfly Library Lamp and the Water Lily Globe {photo from the Neustadt Collection website}:

We also dropped by the Italian Garden, and to us, late summer is truly the best time to see this Garden of three pools, with charmingly social Koi and what seems like dozens of different types of water lilies, iris and other pond plants. We think it's impossible to take a less-than-perfect photo of the Italian Garden this time of year. What do you think?

Our only regret was that we were at the Estate just before the full bloom of sunflowers lining the road to the Winery, which is such a simple thing but makes a big impact, being on the grand scale that it is. We did see the sunflowers a couple of years ago, though {here's a pic below}, so we'll look for it next year perhaps.

So, Biltmore Estate, we thank you for just being you. We'll look forward to hearing about our guests' visits to beautiful Biltmore and we'll see you again ourselves soon! Until next time,

Innkeeper Brigette and her mom

Fall Is One Month Away!

2011-08-23T13:41:00.001-04:00

Can you believe it? We're almost to the gorgeous fall foliage season in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Autumn officially kicks off September 23, and there may be a little bit of color at our elevation by then (2,300 feet above sea level), but then before we know it, we'll be dazzled by ruby reds, outstanding oranges, glittering golds and other wonderful color tones in Mother Nature's palette, starting at the high elevations and then washing down the mountains in slow motion.

Fall in the North Carolina Mountains is known for a lot of things...clear cool evenings, Carolina blue sky days, farmers' markets and of course, fall foliage. We'll kick off the first of our annual, weekly fall foliage reports on Tuesday, September 27. Come back to the blog each Tuesday through the first part of November to find out the best spots to see color that week, what trees are giving us their best color show and when the peak will be. Typically, at our elevation, the peak fall foliage time is October 21-31, but it can vary year to year, and with so many microclimates and elevation changes, you will see color within 15-20 minutes of the Inn on Mill Creek between late September and early November.

October weekends are booking fast, but we still have rooms available during the week for those of you who can get away on weekdays or anyone who might be roadtripping down the Blue Ridge Parkway or across the region, for example. And don't forget, we also have a 10% discount on stays of three nights or more, weekends and holidays included.

Stay tuned...we have a feeling we're in for another fun fall season in Western North Carolina!

Cinnamon Peach Bread

2011-08-22T22:40:00.001-04:00

We hope you'll forgive our blog hiatus. We've been working on several upcoming projects {can't wait to share them with you!} but we're back now and giving you, dear blog reader, our full attention.

Since we didn't get a July recipe posted, we'll be doing two for August! Here's the first, our popular cinnamon peach bread. Peaches are in season right now so it's the perfect time to make this yummy bread. Enjoy!

Cinnamon Peach Bread
from the Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast
Prep time: 20 minutes / Bake time: 55-60 minutes / Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients

3 cups flour

1 1/8 cups white sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon mace

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 peaches, chopped

4 eggs

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup apple sauce

Powdered sugar (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.
Grease two 4 ½ x 8 ½ inch loaf pans and line bottom with wax paper
In a large bowl combine flour, white sugar, cinnamon, mace, baking soda and salt. Set aside
In a food processor*, mince peaches, then add brown sugar and eggs and mix
Add oil and apple sauce and mix until well blended
Add peach mixture to flour mixture and stir until combined
Pour batter into prepared pans
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes until crisp on top edges
Sprinkle loaves with powdered sugar
Cool in pans for 10 minutes before removing and cutting
Sprinkle loaves with powdered sugar (optional)

* If you don't have a food processor, a mixer will do the trick!

Summer Afternoon at Mt. Mitchell State Park

2011-07-28T22:25:00.001-04:00

We spent an afternoon this week at Mt. Mitchell State Park, which is where one can escape the summer heat {OK so it was 87 degrees at the Inn, but don't laugh, that's hot for us} and head to cooler temps and the highest peak in the eastern United States.

Mt. Mitchell is only about five miles as the crow flies, but we humans need to drive and thus we took the scenic route up curvy Highway 80 in our lovely McDowell County to the Blue Ridge Parkway. This time of year along the Blue Ridge Parkway, you'll see lots of wildflowers and motorcycles, a great combination! Off of the Parkway is Highway 128, which leads to Mt. Mitchell State Park, and you can then drive to the parking area close to the viewing platform. From there, it's a short walk up to the platform.

From the Inn to Mt. Mitchell is approximately 60 minutes' drive. And then you are rewarded with this:

And also this {in July}:

Mt. Mitchell has great trails, but we decided that the innpugs would be better off taking it easy on a sunny day, so we walked up to the viewing platform, pug water dish in hand, and spent some time just taking in the scenery, like the photos at the top of this post.

And seeing as he was the highest pug in the Eastern United States {along with Csaba chilling out in the shade}, Bugsy the Innpug felt it fitting to pose by the new benchmark disk for Mt. Mitchell, which was set in 2009 when the current viewing platform was built.

What's In Bloom at the Inn (July)

2011-07-12T17:39:00.000-04:00

This has been a rather warm summer so far for us, how about you? It got up to 88 degrees here at the Inn today! This weekend's forecast says the high temps will be around 75, though, so until then, we'll just hang around the pool -- Pool Garden, that is. The swimming pool at the Inn was filled in several years ago, before our time as innkeepers, and is now filled with flowers and plants, which we love. Here's some of what you'll see blooming in the Pool Garden in July {more photos await you at our Bed & Breakfast Facebook Page}:

Bee Balm
Butterfly Bush
Daylilies
Garden Phlox
Gladiolas
Hydrangea
Purple Coneflower
Roses
Stonecrop
Thyme
Yarrow

2011 Sourwood Festival in Black Mountain

2011-07-10T07:00:00.006-04:00

We can't wait for August, when Black Mountain's Sourwood Festival is back in town! If you've ever been to a small town local festival and found that kind of irresistible small town charm that puts a smile on your face, then you'll know why we love this one. The Sourwood Festival, now in its 34th year, pays tribute to the local area in the form of hundreds of arts and crafts booths, awesome food, entertainment, and a singing contest, plus honey and bee demonstrations. And it's FREE. The festival is named after the sourwood tree and the fabulous honey produced from it {thank you honeybees!} which we use quite often at the Inn.

Here's what a sourwood tree looks like in the fall with its leaves a-blazin' in chili pepper red tones, taken near our south lawn last October. Leaf peepers planning a visit here during fall foliage season in the North Carolina mountains, take note, the sourwood tree is one of the first trees to start changing:

This year's Sourwood Festival, presented by the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce, will be held August 13-14, 2011. We hope you'll join us at the Inn on Mill Creek for the weekend! Find out more about the festival at www.sourwoodfestival.com.

Hike to Craggy Pinnacle near Black Mountain

2011-07-09T14:49:00.001-04:00

We had some time a few weeks ago to head up the Blue Ridge Parkway just northeast of Asheville to Craggy Gardens, a section of the Blue Ridge Parkway off of Milepost 364 that's known for its proliferation of pink and purple rhododendron in May/June (and lots of other wildflowers in spring and summer) and its expansive mountain views.

More than one hiking trail graces this pretty section of the Parkway, and we chose the Craggy Pinnacle hike (one of our Ten Hikes for Summer in the North Carolina Mountains) due to the fact that it's a fairly short trail, it has a gorgeous view at the end, and it's partially shaded...perfect for a hot summer day...and by hot, we mean 85 degrees at our elevation and 73 degrees at Craggy Gardens.

Here are some photos from the trail (even the parking lot has an awesome view!)

Nice view, huh?

And back down we go!

As you can see, the Craggy Pinnacle Trail is innpug friendly, and dogs and people have plenty of space to share the trail. Almost all public trails that we know of in the area are pet friendly; just be sure to keep your dog on leash.

We have maps of all the trails at Craggy Gardens for guests of the Inn. For those who just want to check out the view and spend some time among the wildflowers, other highlights of Craggy Gardens include a picnic area and a visitor center. Even more details about Craggy Gardens can be found at www.romanticasheville.com/Craggy.htm.

Tiffany Exhibition at Biltmore Estate

2011-06-30T22:44:00.001-04:00

Here's a cool exhibit to check out for those of you who plan to go to Biltmore Estate when you're in our neck of the woods:

Biltmore will feature 45 stained glass lamps and other items from Louis Comfort Tiffany and the Tiffany Studios in a special exhibition at Biltmore's Antler Hill Village, from July 1 through October 23, 2011.

The Neustadt Collection of Tiffany Glass in New York traveling exhibition (photo above from their website) features designs inspired by the natural world and speak to Tiffany's attempts to create something that was both artistic and useful.

To complement the exhibition, Biltmore is placing Tiffany-inspired creations in Biltmore House and around the gardens, including dragonflies (40 feet tall!) made of flowers and foliage, a 24-foot "Living Wall" of flowers and plants that mimic stained glass near the Conservatory, and floral decorations in tribute to Tiffany's love of botanicals.

And don't forget -- when you stay at the Inn on Mill Creek, you can get two-day tickets for $49. No transaction fees or extra charges. Just the opportunity to stretch out out your time at Biltmore and take your getaway at your own pace.

Scones

2011-06-30T21:00:00.005-04:00

We've been making scones quite a bit lately. For some reason, we had put them in the "they're a bit complicated, so save them for special occasions" baking category, but once we started delving into different recipes for scones, we found they aren't much of a challenge at all. Who knew!?

Below is our June recipe, for scones, adapted from Southern Living. {What's cool is when they come out just like the picture in the magazine -- December 2010 issue by the way. Thanks once again, Southern Living!}

Brown Sugar Pecan Mini Scones
from the Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast
Prep time: 20 minutes / Bake time: 15 minutes / Serves 8-10

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour, sifted

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) cold butter

1 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans (we use the sugar coated kind)

Directions

Preheat oven to 450.
Stir together sifted flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
Cut butter into small cubes and mix into the dry ingredients (clean hands work well if you don't have a pastry mixer). You want the mixture to look crumbly, like small peas. If you mix it too much, the scones will be too dense.
Freeze mixture for 10 minutes
Take out of the freezer and add 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp whipping cream and pecans to the mixture, stirring just until the mixture is moistened.
Divide the dough into two halves, onto separate sheets of wax paper {If you leave one piece of dought, that's OK, too. Your scones will be "regular size".)
Cut each half into eight wedges (so you'll have 16 mini's) and place on baking sheet.
Brush the remaining whipping cream over the scones.
Bake 15 minutes or until golden.
Let cool to room temperature and enjoy!

To mix things up a little, try a savory version of these scones -- omit the brown sugar and pecans, stir in 1 cup of chopped pear, 1/2 cup grated Asiago cheese and 1 tsp of chopped fresh or crushed dried rosemary with the whipping cream to make Asiago Pear and Rosemary Scones (that's the version we made in the photo above).

On the Walls at the Inn

2011-06-10T19:11:00.001-04:00

We love gracing the walls of the Inn with the works of talented artists, so from time to time, we'll be featuring what's on the walls at the Inn.

In this post, we give a shout out and thank you to friend of the Inn Nick D'Amato. Nick is a talented photographer who has taken several outstanding photos of, among other things, railroads, trains and landscapes around our area. We were fortunate to meet Nick a couple of years ago and now have two of his photos on display at the Inn. The top one is a train heading toward the Swannanoa Tunnel in the Royal Gorge area near the start of our road, and the bottom one is an aerial view of our property from November of 2009:

Since our photo above of Nick's photos doesn't do justice to Nick's talent, here are the links to the photos so you can see how beautiful they are:

See Photo 1

See Photo 2

What's in Bloom at the Inn (Early June)

2011-06-09T22:03:00.001-04:00

Wondering what flowers you'll see when you visit the Inn in early- to mid-June? Here's a partial list:

Roses (the red ones above are some of our favorites)
Daylilies
Catmint
Hydrangeas
Geraniums
Calla Lilies
Oriental Lilies
Butterfly Bush
Shasta Daisies

And a few pics (see our B&B Facebook page for more):

Daylilies about to burst!

Ten Hikes for Summer in the North Carolina Mountains

2011-06-02T07:22:00.010-04:00

The view from the highest peak in the eastern United States, Mt. Mitchell

Summer's right around the corner, but the current temperature outside makes it seem like summer's already arrived! The average 24-hour temperature at our elevation in the summertime is 72 degrees and average highs are in the low-80s at the hottest point of summer, but we've been seeing highs above 85 for the past few days. And even though we can't promise that the hot weather won't stick around, we can say that the higher you go, the cooler the temps.

So without further ado, here are ten hikes for summer in the North Carolina mountains around Asheville, with an emphasis on higher elevations or shady spots around our neck of the woods (and don't forget...June 4 is National Trails Day!):

Balsam Trail (Mt. Mitchell State Park) - Looping near the 6,684-ft summit of Mt. Mitchell (less than five miles north of the Inn on Mill Creek as the crow flies, but about an hour's scenic drive from the Inn mostly along the Blue Ridge Parkway), the 0.75-mile Balsam Trail is an easy trail and starts at the parking lot just below the observation deck. Mt. Mitchell is part of the Black Mountain Range, which contains six of the ten tallest peaks in the eastern United States. {We have Mt. Mitchell trail maps here at the Inn on Mill Creek for guests who want to take a hike around the highest peak east of the Mississippi.}

Black Rock Nature Trail (Grandfather Mountain) - About 45 minutes northeast of the Inn on Mill Creek, along the Blue Ridge Parkway, is Grandfather Mountain, a state park and globally-recognized nature preserve. The Black Rock Nature Trail heads out from one of Grandfather's parking areas and leads through a forested area {read: shade} to some nice views. For more information on this hike, visit Grandfather Mountain's website.

Craggy Pinnacle Trail (Blue Ridge Parkway) - Craggy Pinnacle Trail, part of the Craggy Gardens area, is a 1.5-mile moderate hike that starts at the Craggy Dome Overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway (Milepost 364, about 40 minutes from the Inn) and ends at 360-degree views of the mountains. Rhododendron are in abundance in June, while we hear late summer offers the chance to pick wild blueberries. {We have Craggy Gardens trail maps at the Inn on Mill Creek for guests.}

Daniel Boone Scout Trail (Grandfather Mountain, backcountry hike) - This is a moderate-to-strenuous backcountry trail at Grandfather Mountain. There are ladders and cables to assist hikers on some portions of the trail as it heads to the summit of Calloway Peak, the highest point in the Blue Ridge Mountain Range (The Blue Ridge Mountain Range and the Black Mountain Range are two different ranges, next to each other within the Blue Ridge province.) For more information on this hike visit Grandfather Mountain's website.

Deep Gap Trail (Mt. Mitchell State Park) - This trail at Mt. Mitchell State Park crosses Mt. Craig, which is the second-highest peak in the eastern United States. It's a 4.5-mile moderate-to-strenuous hike with spectacular views. RomanticAsheville.com has an excellent description of the first mile of the hike, to Mt. Craig, for those who want to go a shorter distance.

Green Knob Overlook Firetower (Blue Ridge Parkway) - Green Knob is a peak that stands more than 5,000 feet high, along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We're fond of it because you can actually see it in the distance from our apple orchard. We hiked the trail last June from the Green Knob Overlook to the fire tower, which you can read about here. The last time we hiked the trail in September of 2010, the Forest Service was doing repairs to the tower and the tower itself was closed. We're looking into whether that work is still going on.

Greybeard Trail (Montreat) - Greybeard Mountain is accessible by driving through the charming town of Montreat about 15 minutes from the Inn and just north of the town of Black Mountain. {There are more than 15 trails in Montreat; we have Montreat Trail maps available for guests of the Inn.} The trail is considered moderate, but takes 3-4 hours so it's best to start out early. You'll get to the top of Greybeard after almost 3,000 feet of elevation gain, to the highest point in Montreat at a little over 5,400 feet.

Mt. Pisgah (Blue Ridge Parkway) - Southwest of Asheville at Milepost 407 off the Blue Ridge Parkway is Mt. Pisgah, standing at over 5,700 feet above sea level. You can hike to the summit on a 3-mile roundtrip moderate trail that starts off from the parking area (where there's also a fantastic restaurant called Pisgah Inn if you plan to be there at lunch or dinner). An interesting fact about Mt. Pisgah: It's named for the mountain in the Bible where Moses first saw the promised land.

Rainbow Road Trail (Montreat) - Rainbow Road, located off of Lookout Road, is in Montreat, bordering the town of Black Mountain to the north. The trailhead for Rainbow Road is near the Lookout Mountain trailhead but Rainbow Road starts off in the opposite direction, through rhododendron thickets in the woods. It's a nice and easy, flat trail with shady spots. Along the two-mile trail, you'll see the trailhead for the more strenuous Rainbow Mountain Trail loop, at which point you'll start heading back on Rainbow Road toward Lookout Mountain. That's a good turning around point if you don't want to go the whole way. But if you do, the trail ends at the split of the Old Mitchell Toll Road and the Old Trestle Road, two unblazed trails.

Skinny Dip Falls Trail (Blue Ridge Parkway) - The 1.5-mile moderate trail used to be not-so-well known, which may be how it got its name, but due to its rising popularity, bathing suits are now encouraged if hikers want to take a dip in the pools and tiered falls at the end of the trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 417. The water is cold, so a change of clothes is a good idea. For a description of this hike, see HikeWNC's website.

Finally, a few general tips for hiking in the mountains: Bring plenty of water with you on your hike; even though places like Mt. Mitchell tend to be 15+ degrees cooler than Asheville and Black Mountain, you still need hydration. Don't forget your camera for pictures of wildflowers and possible wildlife (but tread lightly so as to keep the scenery looking nice for others). Keep in mind that cell phone service is spotty in the mountains. Oh, and bug spray is never a bad idea in the summertime. Lastly, be sure to check the weather forecast before you head out for a day of hiking. The weather can be temperamental in the mountains all year long.

Kiva Loan #27

2011-05-31T22:04:00.004-04:00

Since our entrance into the world of business ownership in 2007, we have been helping other small business owners with microloans through Kiva. [Read more about our experiences with Kiva]

One of our borrowers recently paid off her loan (congratulations, Kivelyo!) and eight of our borrowers have been making payments on their loans, so we had funds available to us. Our options included having our loan money returned to us, or investing in the growth of another small business. The choice was easy for us.

Our newest borrower is Reina from Columbia (pictured above). Reina has a fruit stand and wants to add more fruit to her inventory, as well as expand her business by selling multimedia such as CDs and DVDs. She has paid back two previous loans from Kiva and has been able to increase her profits and better her business, so she's doing well and we hope to read positive results from her latest loan.

If you've loaned money with Kiva before and haven't been to their website in a while, or if you're interested in learning more about Kiva, the organization has recently redesigned its website to make it more user friendly. It's now very easy to find specific types of borrowers that appeal to you, by searching right from the home page. You can search by gender, country, business sector, whether it's a group loan or individual loan, etc. Also, for the mobile technology lovers among us, Kiva has a gallery of apps created by third party developers.

Orange Souffle

2011-05-31T19:56:00.013-04:00

Our May recipe is souffle, a light egg dish that's perfect for what we call a "small house" -- 4 to 6 guests. You may have heard of cheese souffle or some other savory version. We do a sweet twist with an orange souffle (with optional strawberry topping in season), best served warm right out of the oven all fluffy and puffy and pretty. The biggest concern for those who make souffle is that the souffle will collapse before it gets to the table, due to the fact that as the souffle cools, the air inside is released, deflating the souffle.

For B&Bs, presentation is a big part of breakfast, so if you want your friends and family to see your souffle at its best, we humbly share this word of advice we heard once from other innkeepers: Souffle doesn't wait for the guests; the guests wait for the souffle.

Keep in mind, there is prep time and multiple steps involved, and baking time, too. But it's worth it in the end. So if you have a morning that's not rushed, and friends or family who like a sweet breakfast, give this recipe a try. {A pretty bowl makes the dish even better...we bake our souffle in a scalloped, blue-speckled pottery bowl customed designed for the Inn several years ago by Garrou Pottery in Black Mountain.}

Orange Souffle
from the Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast
Prep time: 45 minutes / Bake time: 45 minutes / Serves 4-6

Ingredients

First, note that you will need a baking dish with steep sides for this recipe, or simply fill your baking dish 3/4 full with batter to allow room for the souffle to rise.

Sauce
6 Tbsp butter
½ Cup orange juice
2 Tbsp sugar

Batter
9 large eggs (you'll need to separate them into whites and yolks)

7 Tbsp sugar

¼ cup orange juice

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Berry Topping

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons sugar

½ cup orange juice

4 cups sliced strawberries

To make the sauce:

In a small or medium saucepan, melt butter.
Add orange juice and sugar, removing from heat when bubbly.

Innkeeper Tip #1: You might want to make the sauce after you make the batter, because the sauce needs to be hot when it goes into the souffle bowl. It goes in the dish first, before the batter, which is why we list it first).

To make the batter:

Separate yolks from the egg whites.
In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy.
Add sugar and beat until the whites hold stiff peaks.

Innkeeper Tip #2: Do not overbeat the egg whites because that will make the mixture too thick...you need air in the mixture to help keep the souffle's shape. {Here's a great article on the science behind a souffle}
In a separate bowl, beat together the egg yolks, orange juice and flour until well mixed.
Gently fold into the egg whites with a rubber spatula (emphasis on gently).

Now, on to the souffle! Preheat oven to 350.

Spray your baking dish's sides with nonstick spray.
Pour sauce into baking dish first.
Gently slide large spoonfuls of the batter into the hot sauce.
Bake for 45 minutes, until the center jiggles only slightly.

To make topping (make 5-7 minutes before the souffle comes out of the oven):

In a small or medium frying pan, melt butter.
Stir in sugar and orange juice.
When bubbling, stir in the sliced strawberries just until warm; do not cook.
Spoon over souffle before serving.

Art around Asheville in June

2011-05-28T17:27:00.000-04:00

A stellar piece from Turtle Island Pottery. Their work is featured in several local galleries and at their own showroom in Old Fort. Photo Credit: Turtle Island Pottery Facebook Page

Exciting news to share: AmericanStyle Magazine has given Asheville top honors in its list of 25 top art destinations: small cities. We, of course, think it's a well deserved first place award, given the thriving arts (and crafts) community that exists in the Asheville area, and the support for our many artists. To show you what we mean, here's a list of some of the arts events going on in June:

Asheville Downtown Gallery Association Art Walk (June 3): One of four upcoming art walks hosted by the Asheville Downtown Gallery Association this year, the June Art Walk from 5pm to 8pm on Friday, June 3, is a chance to visit as many of the Association's 25 galleries, studios and museums as you desire. That's a lot of places to see art! But they're all worth a visit if you want to get a taste of local art, even if it's not during the Art Walk.
Arrowhead Artists & Artisans League Arts Mart (June 4): Every first Saturday of the month, Old Fort's newest arts group, the Arrowhead Artists & Artisans League, holds its Arts Mart at the depot in historic Old Fort, about 15 minutes east of the Inn on Mill Creek. Pottery, baskets, woodworking, jewelry, fiber arts and more are on display and for sale from 10am to 4pm.
Black Mountain Arts & Crafts Show (June 4-5): Sutton Avenue in the town of Black Mountain (10 minutes west of the Inn on Mill Creek) will be the site of the 14th Annual Black Mountain Arts & Crafts Show. The work of more than 65 juried artists and craftspeople will be on display during this free art event.
Art in the Park (June 11; June 18; June 25): You've heard of farmers' markets. Art in the Park is an artists' market, held in Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville on three Saturdays in June, and again in October.
River Arts District Studio Stroll (June 12-13): Held twice a year on the artsy west side of Asheville, the River Arts District Studio Stroll features the opportunity for you to meet artists in their studios. The Studio Stroll is a walkable tour of 19 historic buildings that have been converted into art studio space. A trolley also takes people to stops along the tour.
Art in Bloom hosted by the Black Mountain Center for the Arts (June 16-19): The Art in Bloom special event, in its fifth year, combines art and flowers. This year's four-day event starts with a gala preview on Thursday, and events throughout the weekend, including garden tours, a garden art panel, a fashion show and exhibitions.

Some great places to see art any time of year include the many Asheville art galleries, the Asheville Art Museum, the Folk Art Center off the Blue Ridge Parkway on the east side of Asheville, the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, and the Sourwood Gallery in Black Mountain, just to name a few. And as was mentioned in a comment at the end of the AmericanStyle article, most of the local restaurants and many businesses (including ours) showcase art for sale by local artisans and craftspeople...just another way Asheville proves itself as the number one small city for art.

Now in Bloom at the Inn (May)

2011-05-14T19:22:00.001-04:00

The garden's getting prettier and prettier! Here are a few blooms you may see when you visit the Inn in May:

Almost done blooming -- Columbine, Iris, Azalea, False Blue Indigo, Pansies
In bloom -- Rose, Peony, Evening Primrose, Geranium, Gerbera Daisy, Snapdragon, Spiderwort
Soon to bloom --Lilies, Astilbe, Mountain Laurel

Enjoy the photos below, taken this week, and visit our B&B Facebook Page to see more Spring blooms.

Bed & Breakfast... and Birds

2011-04-24T11:48:00.002-04:00

The weather has warmed up enough that we're back to serving in the sunny solarium at breakfast! Here are recent guests Lisa, Mike, Clarke, Marsha, Kathleen, Pat, Carol and Sandy enjoying Dave's frittatas and Pisgah National Forest:

Besides being a place for breakfast, the solarium is also a place from which you might observe our other breakfast-time (and afternoon and evening) guests -- those of the winged variety. For example, our American Goldfinches are back in full force and are having a grand time in the morning at our new feeders from Wild Birds Unlimited in Asheville.

As this next guy turned to say hello from behind one of the feeders, we thought he resembled a Marshmallow Peep just a little, so it's fitting that we share his picture on Easter, don't you think?

The Inn on Mill Creek near Black Mountain and Asheville, NC, is one of 105 Mountains Region sites on the North Carolina Birding Trail, something we're very proud of. Other nearby Birding Trail sites in the mountains of Western North Carolina include Biltmore Estate, Chimney Rock State Park, Grandfather Mountain, Linville Falls, Mount Mitchell State Park, the Mountain Gateway Museum in Old Fort, and the North Carolina Arboretum.

Just last week, innkeepers and guests heard and/or saw the following species of birds at the Inn:

American Goldfinches
American Crow
Barred Owl
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Blue Jay
Carolina Chickadee
Carolina Wren
Eastern Phoebe
Louisiana Waterthrush
Mourning Dove
Northern Cardinal
Pileated Woodpecker
Red-eyed Vireo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Tufted Titmouse
Whip-Poor-Will
White-breasted Nuthatch

As one of a handful of private properties on the statewide driving trail, the Inn's grounds are open to birding enthusiasts seven days a week, by appointment. Please call 828.668.1115 or e-mail us to set up a time to come out and do some birding on the North Carolina Birding Trail! More than 120 species of birds make our neck of the woods their home at different times of the year.

Additionally, stay tuned as we're working out details to provide formal birding opportunities for our guests with our new friend and expert birder, Simon Thompson of Ventures Birding Tours. Some of you may recognize Simon from Wild Birds Unlimited in Asheville, which he owns with his partner, Chris, or from Chimney Rock State Park, where Simon serves as the Park's ornithologist and leads guided bird walks.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (gluten free!)

2011-04-21T16:48:00.001-04:00


Ding! Cookies are ready!

Our April recipe is our Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, an adaptation on a Southern Living recipe. With no flour needed, this recipe is automatically gluten free. And even better, they are super easy to make!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
from the Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast
Prep time: 25 minutes / Bake time: 12 minutes / Makes 1.5 dozen

Ingredients

1 egg

1/2 Cup smooth peanut butter

1/3 Cup sugar or sugar substitute

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 Cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 Cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix egg, peanut butter, sugar, baking powder and salt until creamy.
Stir in chips.
Refrigerate mixture for 10 minutes.
Spoon onto cookie sheets (we use a tablespoon)
Bake for 12 minutes (we rotate the sheets once, halfway through)
Let cool for 10 minutes
Make another batch, because they go fast!

More April Blooms

2011-04-20T16:51:00.001-04:00

Spring at our Bed & Breakfast in the mountains of Western North Carolina is zooming right along, and very beautifully we might add. A few days ago, we highlighted what's currently in bloom at the Inn. Here are some more blooms, which seem to be increasing daily. Yay, Spring!

Columbine

Lily of the Valley

Bleeding hearts in front of pink and white azaleas

Scotch Broom in front of irises that are going to bloom any day now

Chimney Rock Park Outcroppings Trail Back Open

2011-04-18T20:13:00.000-04:00

We got great news last week from our friends at Chimney Rock Park, a beautiful state park in the Hickory Nut Gorge area about 30 minutes south of the Inn on Mill Creek. The park is named for a huge granite monolith called the Chimney, on which you can stand and see awesome views that span for miles. Here's a photo we took looking up at the Chimney in 2009:

Access to the Chimney has been restored after months of work to improve the Outcroppings Trail, leading from the upper parking lot to the stairs at the base of the Chimney. What we like about the "new and improved" Outcroppings Trail is that it now allows for two-way foot traffic so you no longer need to squeeeeze to get by someone on the way up as you head down or vice versa. This is a seriously fabulous improvement. Additionally, the Outcroppings Trail is pet-friendly, so four-legged friends (on leashes) can get by more easily as well.

Our guests who have mobility challenges should definitely keep in mind that climbing the stairs on the Outcroppings Trail is currently the only way to get to the top of the Chimney, as the park continues its upgrade this year of the elevator. Modernizing the elevator is a major undertaking and the work is expected to span the remainder of the year. But trust us, it will be well worth the wait to see those magnificent views from the top!

For more info on the park, the improvements to the elevator and Outcroppings Trail, as well as details about other trails and things to do around the park, check out Chimney Rock Park's website. And visit their Facebook page for the latest photos of Hickory Nut Falls after our big rain this past weekend. It's pretty amazing.

Now in bloom at the Inn (mid-April)

2011-04-14T22:13:00.002-04:00

We've had some amazing weather the past two weeks...amazing in that we've had all four seasons wrapped into one! Small flurries, thunderstorms, warm sunny days, you name it. So, it's nice to see that Mother Nature is being consistent with the gorgeous flowers and flowering trees now in bloom around Asheville, Black Mountain and Old Fort -- our beautiful neck of the woods. Yep, Spring is still our favorite season.

Here's what's in bloom now at the Inn: Lilacs (the one pictured above is outside the Mountain Laurel Room window), daffodils in the White Garden (see below), bleeding hearts, violas and pansies, creeping phlox, tulips (albeit some hot weather days have shortened their days) and candytuft. In the "soon-to-bloom" category, we have irises (any day now) and our rose bushes have teeny tiny buds! So exciting. Visit our B&B Facebook Page for more photos, and consider Liking our page so that you can get automatic updates whenever we post new seasonal photos.

If you'll be in our neck of the woods this Spring or Summer and want to check out Mother Nature's colorful palate of flowers, here are some great "bloom report" websites to check out:

Asheville Bloom Calendar
Biltmore Estate: Blooming Now
Chimney Rock: What's Blooming
Grandfather Mountain Wildflower Bloom Calendar
North Carolina Arboretum: What's in Bloom

Visit to Painter's Greenhouse

2011-04-13T19:15:00.002-04:00

Whenever we visit Painter's Greenhouse, one of our favorite nurseries in our area, it's tempting to take home flats upon flats of gorgeous plants and flowers. Painter's is amazing. But we've learned to pace ourselves {"we" meaning Brigette}, and with a list in hand, we recently headed over to the Painter's Greenhouse Herb Fest: live music, fabulous food, and plants everywhere.

Thanks to Painter's the herb garden at the southern end of the Pool Garden is now in good shape, with chives, thyme, thai basil, two kinds of sage, not to mention our fennel, lavender, chocolate mint, st. john's wort and tarragon that's already in the garden. Here are a few of our new herbs for 2011:

Plus, a beautiful rosemary shrub is now in its new home on the deck overlooking the solarium. And we picked out some Dusty Millers and Shasta Daisies for the White Garden.

We had a great time and a successful adventure. Already planning our next gardening mission with the help of Painter's...plants and flowers for all of our containers.

Return of the Phlox

2011-04-03T12:45:00.000-04:00

Our creeping phlox in the Pool Garden (a garden that used to be a swimming pool) is blooming profusely and when it returns, that signals the return of butterflies to the Inn. Here are our first two winged visitors of the season...with many more to come. We've counted up to 40 butterflies at one time on the phlox, which provides a purple splash of color in the middle of the Pool Garden this time of year.

Individual Apple Crisps

2011-03-31T21:07:00.007-04:00

For our March recipe, we've picked one of our popular fruit side dishes: apple crisp. Rather than serve out of a large dish, we make ours in individual portions of appley goodness topped with a fabulous crumbly topping. One entree we like to serve with our apple crisps is Dave's vegetable and ham quiche (with homemade sausage balls on the side as well).

Our recipe is a version of the original recipe of Patrick and Gina Neely on Food Network, so we thought we'd also share a cute video we found of the Neelys making their apple crisps on "Down Home with the Neelys":

And here's our adapted recipe. Enjoy!

Individual Apple Crisps

from the Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast
Prep time: 30 minutes / Bake time: 40 minutes plus 5 minutes cooling / Makes 8

Ingredients

Filling
7 medium granny smith apples
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 Cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Crumbly Topping
3/4 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 Cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
6 Tbsp chilled butter, cut into small cubes

Preheat oven to 350.

First, the filling:

Peel, core and chop the granny smith apples. We use one of these to peel and core, which really cuts down on the prep time:
In a bowl containing the remainder of the ingredients, stir in the apples until a nice glaze appears on the apples. We use a wooden spoon for this. You do not want any dry flour or brown sugar showing on the apples.
Spray ramekins with non-stick spray and spoon apple filling into each ramekin. We overfill because the filling tends to shrink when cooling after baking.

Now for the topping:

Mix flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Mix in the chilled butter (you can use a pastry cutter/mixer, but we've found using your hands works better), until the mixture has clumps the size of small peas. Overmixing will result in less crumbly topping.

Sprinkle the crumbly topping over the filling and bake the ramekins on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Take out and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Innkeeper Tip: Save yourself some time in the morning by preparing the filling and topping the night before. It can be stored {separately and covered} in the frig overnight. We put the apple filling into the ramekins, place them in a large casserole dish and store them that way. We leave the crumbly topping in the mixing bowl and cover that. You will need to rework the crumbly topping a little bit before sprinkling it over the filling, because storing in the refrigerator will cause it to want to stick together into one large crumb!

Spring Greening

2011-03-26T20:08:00.000-04:00

Driving around this week, we noticed that several trees are flowering in the Asheville/Black Mountain area and there is green starting to show on the trees. Spring has arrived! And although the daytime temperature went from 79 degrees to 49 degrees in a span of three days (that's Spring in the mountains), we can't help but notice Mother Nature giving us some beautiful blooms to make up for that temporary fluctuation in the weather.

Currently blooming at the Inn: Daffodils, our dwarf weeping cherry by the Main House, and forsythia (all just past peak), pansies, and creeping phlox (just getting started).

Enjoy these latest photos from the Inn, and be sure to visit our Facebook page for even more photos and updates - http://www.facebook.com/innonmillcreek. We hope you'll "like" us because we love hanging out on Facebook with our Facebook friends!

Benefit Concert for Japan at White Horse Black Mountain

2011-03-26T20:06:00.000-04:00

We wanted to share an upcoming event being sponsored by our friends at the fabulous music venue White Horse Black Mountain. As many of you know, parts of northern Japan are coping with the effects of an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and devastating tsunami earlier this month. Akira Satake, an artist, musician and native of Japan who lives in Swannanoa (the charming little town next door to Black Mountain) along with the folks at White Horse Black Mountain, have organized a benefit concert set for Thursday, March 31, 2011, at 7pm, to help those who have been affected by this tragedy.

The benefit concerts headliners include Akira Satake along with Tony Trischka and Tim O'Brien, and local musicians Billy Cardine, Julia Weatherford and Duncan Wickel will be performing as well. All proceeds will go to GlobalGiving’s Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund.

Find out more at the White Horse Black Mountain Facebook Page and the Laurel of Asheville website.

2011 Biltmore Festival of Flowers Begins April 2

2011-03-13T07:35:00.019-04:00

Spring gets a head start in the Biltmore Conservatory (March 2011)

Our four-year anniversary with the Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast is right around the corner, and one thing we're remarking on this year is how we love Spring more and more as time goes on. Spring has actually surpassed Autumn as our favorite season if you can believe it (and that's saying a lot, considering we have six weeks of awesome fall color in the mountains of Western North Carolina).

One annual event that always makes us smile and "think Spring" is Biltmore Estate's Festival of Flowers. The gardens at Biltmore are definitely the place to be during the Festival of Flowers. In April, there are tulips amassed in the Walled Garden by the thousands and the Azalea Garden follows soon after with acres and acres of azalea shrubs in full bloom. It's hard to pinpoint the exact bloom peak of the azaleas...one year it was the last week of April, while it was the first week of May the previous year. However, no matter when you visit, be it April or May, you will experience a fantastic technicolor-esque Spring palette. Tulips, azaleas, irises and peonies are just some of the Spring blooms you might see. Plus, the roses are really something to behold at Biltmore and they'll be blooming in Spring as well.

The Festival of Flowers is celebrated not just in the gardens at Biltmore, but all around the estate, including: inside Biltmore House in gorgeous floral arrangements, at Biltmore Winery with special Festival of Flowers wines, at the restaurants which carry special menus, and at the garden shop behind the Conservatory, where you can attend daily seminars on topics like Culinary Herbs and Edible Flowers and Celebrate Spring with Wreaths (and keep in mind that guests of the Inn on Mill Creek can get discounted tickets that are also good for a free second day to be able to enjoy Biltmore to its fullest).

Lest we forget that Spring is still a week away as we write this, we have some photos to share from our most recent trip to Biltmore with friends. The orchids are in full bloom in the Conservatory (Brigette's favorite place on the estate), and there are some Spring flowers and other blooms that are providing a little color preview for all the beauty to come over the next few months in the North Carolina mountains. Enjoy... and think Spring!

Biltmore...proving it's beautiful even on those rare, dreary days

Painters Greenhouse 2011 Herb Festival

2011-03-12T17:56:00.001-05:00

In "Spring is almost here!" news: You know Spring is almost here when it's time for the annual Painters Greenhouse Herb Festival. Now in its seventh year, the Herb Festival, which will take place April 9-10, 2011, is more than just a sale on herbs (like the ones at the left, photo courtesy of Painters Greenhouse Facebook Page). While you're picking out your chives, basil, parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, you'll also get to be entertained by local musicians, browse local arts and crafts, and enjoy some festive fare (funnel cakes, anyone? yum!).

We're really excited to see what Painters Greenhouse has been growing for the 2011 season. Our favorite local greenhouse and nursery, located about 25 minutes from the Inn on Mill Creek in Old Fort, is under new ownership, and we hear that along with the usual beautiful hanging baskets, perennials, bedding plants and shrubs, there will be an increase in vegetable starts, as well as a new native plant section.

Plus, what we like about Painters is that you can buy lots of plants {"and believe me, we do," Brigette adds while Dave just smiles} and the plants will easily fit in your car...perfect for our guests to be able to transport their new plants from Painters back to their homes. And to make it even easier, we've got plenty of outdoor space at the Inn, so you can keep your baby plants safe outdoors in a sheltered spot while you're staying with us.

Popovers

2011-02-27T17:14:00.001-05:00

Ah, the popover. Light and airy, the popover is a nice complimentary side dish for our hearty breakfast entries, such as Dave's frittata. Considered the distant American cousin of the English Yorkshire pudding, the popover has been in existence since at least 1850, and the first popover recipe to be printed in a cookbook appeared in 1876. We have no idea how much the original recipe is like ours, but here's what our version looks like. Enjoy!

Popovers
from the Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast
Prep time: 15 minutes / Bake time: 1 hour / Makes 10

Ingredients

3 eggs

3 Tbsp butter (or 2/3 butter 1/3 margarine mix), melted

1 Cup milk

1 Cup general purpose flour

½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350.

Whisk eggs until frothy
Whisk in butter, then milk until each is blended.
Whisk in flour and salt.
Spray cups of muffin pan and fill about 2/3 full with batter.
Bake 1 hour.

Innkeeper Tip #1: To keep your popovers from deflating, use a toothpick to poke a small hole in the top to let air in. The air will fill the popover and help it to keep its puffed up shape.

Innkeeper Tip #2: Use a new/good muffin pan. Popovers tend to “stick” to a pan more than muffins or breads do.

Innkeeper Tip #3: The batter can be made and stored in a sealed container (we use mason jars) in the refrigerator overnight. If you make the batter the night before, be sure to shake the batter before pouring into the muffin pan cups.

Kiva Loans #25 and #26

2011-02-24T23:27:00.002-05:00

We're starting off our participation in microlending this year with loans to two entreprenuers in very different parts of the developing world. As the owners of a small business ourselves, this is one of the ways we help other small business owners and a way to take an active role in the fight against global poverty, a cause that's important to us.

The recipients of our 25th and 26th microloans through Kiva [learn more about our Kiva experiences through our Kiva blog entries] are Mario and Zubaydulo:

Mario lives in the Nicaragua, the largest country in Central America and a country where the average annual income per person is just over $3,000. Mario owns a grocery store, a business he started with support from his family. He requested a loan through Kiva to stock up on items that he sells, such as rice, beans and sugar, as well as toothpaste and soap detergent. We, along with lenders from countries including Australia, Canada, the UK, Romania, Norway and Sweden, pooled our money into a loan for Mario.

Zubaydulo supports his wife and three children by selling vegetables at a market in the Central Asian country of Tajikistan, whose workers earn an average income of $1,300 per year. Zubaydulo has been in this business for three years and will use the loan to increase product turnover. Zubaydulo's loan is being funded by lots of lenders living in the U.S., as well as lenders from Belgium, Switzerland and Singapore.

That's something we love about Kiva. You feel a sense of being connected with others, even though they're far away and you'll probably never physically meet. And this goes for not only the borrowers, but the lenders as well. You can view each lender's page, where they often tell you something about themselves, and you can send messages. You can also connect with others by joining one or more lending teams on Kiva. For example, we're members of the Kiva Editors team due to Brigette's volunteer work editing Kiva loans before they're posted.

Lending teams can be really big...the top three in size have thousands of team members and are quite the diverse bunch: 1) Atheists/Agnostics/Non-Religious, 2) Kiva Christians and 3) a group created by Josh and Chuck, creators of HowStuffWorks.com's Stuff You Should Know podcast.

However, you'll find that the majority are small, more personalized teams. We were touched to read about one lending team who were part of one of our microloans. The team is made up of about 100 lenders and was set up as a memorial to a young Norwegian boy who passed away suddenly. His parents said he was a "life enthusiastic little kid" and participating in Kiva would be a perfect cause to pay tribute to his spirit, for anyone "who believes that the world will be a better place if you grasp the opportunities which arise in everyones lives."

Pool Garden Facelift

2011-02-23T10:39:00.000-05:00

We've been fortunate to have nice weather this week, so we're taking on a couple of garden projects, including mulching the flowerbeds and placing stone around the Pool Garden. The Pool Garden is named for the fact that the garden used to be -- you guessed it -- a swimming pool. The previous innkeepers filled it in several years ago and created a really beautiful garden space.

Here's what the Pool Garden looked like before (photo from Spring 2007):

And here it is today (can't wait to see our Spring flowers arrive in a few weeks!):

Of course, we really can't wait for the Pool Garden to look like this! Ahhhh, Spring.

A Little Flower Power Goes a Long Way

2011-02-19T12:03:00.001-05:00

Sometimes, all it takes is flower power to brighten your day. These are the first of our crocuses to bloom, right on schedule. These tiny guys pack a big {cheerful} punch and you can't help but be reminded that Spring is just around the corner in Western North Carolina when you look at these little beauties.

Here's another exciting development in the garden...daffodil buds amongst the baby bee balm!

Even this little grasshopper came out to enjoy the Springlike weather:

Hope the weekend is a beautiful one where you are!

February Afternoon at Biltmore

2011-02-17T18:34:00.059-05:00

February can be rather unpredictable in the mountains of Western North Carolina. So even though songbirds will be belting out their tunes and daffodils will be showering us with blooms in just four short weeks, we know to take full advantage of a pretty, "Spring-ish" day that comes along in the middle of February.

We did just that today, with an drive over to Biltmore Estate in Asheville (an easy 20-minute trip). The innpugs, of course, came along for the afternoon. Biltmore Estate, along with most of the Asheville area, is pet friendly, allowing your four-legged family members to explore every outdoor nook and cranny as long as you have him or her on a leash. Here's innkeeper Brigette hanging with Csaba and Bugsy on part of the Esplanade (or as we say, Biltmore's front yard), with Biltmore House in the foreground.

One of the things we liked best about this trip to Biltmore were the little hints of Spring, like the two photos we took below of flowers blooming. Enjoy! And don't forget, guests can get Biltmore tickets for $29 at the Inn on Mill Creek through March, and those tickets are good for a FREE second day.

Great Backyard Bird Count 2011

2011-02-16T18:31:00.000-05:00

It's time for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count! The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is the opportunity for bird enthusiasts of all ages -- from casual bird watchers to serious birders -- to participate in a massive counting of birds over a four-day period in the U.S. and Canada. Scientists then use the data from to study bird populations, what kinds of birds live in different areas, the environmental effects on bird migration patterns and how a species' range shrinks or expands over a period of time.

This year, the Great Backyard Bird Count takes place February 18-21, 2011. If you have 15 minutes at any time during the four days of the GBBC, you can take part in the event, led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, along with Bird Studies Canada.

This will be our third year of counting our winged neighbors around the Inn on Mill Creek. As a Mountains Region site on the North Carolina Birding Trail, we see lots of different bird species. In our neck of the woods, this time of year is a busy one for Northern Cardinals, Tufted Titmice, Dark-eyed Juncos, Carolina Chickadees, White-breasted Nuthatches (like the beauty above who was spotted at the Inn last February), Pileated Woodpeckers, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and more.

It's very easy to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count. All you have to do is count birds for at least 15 minutes on at least one of the days and submit a checklist to the Great Backyard Bird Count website for each count. The number of checklists each year is growing...last year, more than 97,200 checklists were submitted! North Carolina once again finished in a strong third place in the number of checklists submitted, only 283 checklists fewer than second-place California and 672 checklists fewer than first-place New York. Not bad!

One nice thing about the Great Backyard Bird Count is that you can print off a bird list for your state or region to help you with identifying birds. Can you guess what bird took the honor of having the biggest number counted during the GBBC in 2010? Think Spring, and then check the GBBC's top ten lists at http://gbbc.birdsource.org/gbbcApps/top10 for the answer.

Spring Peeks Out

2011-02-07T19:49:00.000-05:00

What a memorable winter this has been! Are you having a case of the winter blahs? We've got something to cheer you up. We were excited this past weekend to see a little hint of Spring popping up out of the Pool Garden and had to share it with you. Here come the crocuses!

And here's what they'll look like in about three weeks (can't wait!):

Pumpkin Belgian Waffles

2011-01-31T22:58:00.040-05:00

Our January recipe is a guest favorite... probably our most-requested recipe: our Pumpkin Belgian Waffles. We typically serve our Belgian waffles with eggs and sausage, and depending on the season, we'll top them with fresh blueberries or strawberries, or add melon, pears and/or kiwi on the side.

We were delighted to see our waffle recipe featured as one of A Bloggable Life's Best of Breakfast recipes in Sandie's Inn Cuisine section. We hope you enjoy these waffles as much as we do!

Pumpkin Belgian Waffles
from Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast

Prep time: 25 minutes / Makes approx. 7 large waffles
Dry Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 cup whole wheat flour, sifted
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 & 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Wet Ingredients
4 large eggs, separated
2 Tbsp butter, melted
2 Tbsp margarine, melted
1+ cup (2/3 can) cooked, mashed pumpkin
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup 2% milk
1 cup buttermilk

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
In another bowl, lightly whisk together egg yolks, then one at a time whisk in butter and margarine, pumpkin, brown sugar, and the milks.
Refrigerate wet mix for 5 minutes.
When chilling time has elapsed, add wet ingredients to flour mixture, stirring until just moistened.
In a clean bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; fold into batter.

Refrigerate combined batter for another 5 minutes.
Cook in preheated Belgian waffle iron; this batter will take slightly longer than most other batters (5+ minutes).

For a gluten-free option, we use the mix from The Gluten Free Gourmet [B. Hagman, 2000] scaled to our recipe:

1 & 1/2 cup of white rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour

1 & 1/4 tsp xantham gum

Indoor Winter Activity...Exploring Asheville Art

2011-01-22T19:37:00.012-05:00

See...you can see the mountains indoors, too! George Masa's Mountain Landscape, part of the permanent
collection at the Asheville Art Museum

Although many of our January and February guests like to get outdoors and hike on trails here in Western North Carolina (winter can be a very nice time of year to go hiking...really, we mean it!), we do like to give some options for those of us who are closer to the cool weather=hibernation end of the winter activity spectrum.

The Inn on Mill Creek is located in the Asheville area -- an artists' mecca -- and there are some wonderful galleries and museums and other exhibit halls out there for you to discover, all inside where it's warm and cozy.

So without further ado, here are some artsy {indoor} places to visit:

Asheville Art Museum (http://www.ashevilleart.org/) - the museum has a permanent collection, but also showcase regional and national artists, and exhibitions that are significant to Western North Carolina history and culture, such as their current exhibit of photography by Lee Friedlander featuring Frederick Law Olmstead (who designed the grounds of Biltmore Estate as well as Central Park in NYC and the landscaping of the US Capitol Building).

Black Mountain Center for the Arts (http://www.blackmountainarts.org/) - not only does the Center for the Arts, located in downtown Black Mountain, offer art classes, but on weekdays through February 11, the Center is hosting its 3rd Clay Studio Gallery Show, showcasing the work of local pottery teachers and their students.

Black Mountain College + Arts Center (http://www.blackmountaincollege.org/) - this exhibition space and resource center in Asheville is dedicated to keeping alive the history and legacy of Black Mountain College, considered to be one of the most innovative and revolutionary liberal arts colleges of its time (1930s-1950s).

Blue Spiral One Gallery (http://www.bluespiral1.com/) - this gallery in downtown Asheville specializes in Southeastern fine art and crafts and has several exhibits going on right now, including one featuring three regional artists who are showing their works for the first time at the gallery.

Folk Art Center (www.southernhighlandguild.org/pages/folk-art-center/general-info.php) - Located near the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway on the east side of Asheville, the Folk Art Center showcases the works of the Southern Highland Craft Guild. From quilts to woodworking, fiber art, jewelry and more, this is the place to see the beautiful craftsmenship of southern Appalachian artists.

River Arts District (http://www.riverartsdistrict.com/) - The River Arts District in west Asheville is a group of studios housed in what were once factories and warehouses. This district has seen quite the transformation over the past few years and is home to one of Asheville's neatest studio strolls. During the quiet season, several of the artists keep their studios open so you can view their work in the very place it's created. Pretty cool.

Woolworth Walk Gallery (http://www.woolworthwalk.com/) - over 150 artists, artisans and craftspeople from Western North Carolina have their items on display (and for sale) at the old Woolworth building on Haywood Street in downtown Asheville. There's also a diner called the Soda Fountain, where you can get soup, sandwiches, hot drinks and ice cream.

Many, many more indoor places to see arts and crafts in our lovely, artsy Asheville can be found at http://www.ashevilledowntowngalleries.org/.

Discounted Winter Biltmore Tickets

2011-01-20T17:05:00.007-05:00

Are our guests enjoying the Quiet Season in the Asheville/Black Mountain area? We're seeing a lot of smiles at breakfast, so we're going to guess the answer is a big yes. One of the comments we hear the most during the wintertime is that the lack of crowds, zero traffic, and the ease of getting into restaurants and local attractions is a big plus to visiting the mountains of Western North Carolina this time of year.

One such local attraction is Biltmore Estate, which offers not only the comfort of being indoors during a time when weather can be a bit unpredictable, but also offers three behind-the-scenes tours inside Biltmore House:

Architect's Tour: This tour focuses on the construction of the house. You'll get to visit areas of the house not on the regular self-guided tour that showcase the design of the house, and head out on the rooftop and balconies (weather permitting).
Butler's Tour: You'll see unrestored rooms and mechanical areas of the house in this tour that highlights the history of work that went on at Biltmore by the Vanderbilt family's valued domestic staff.
Family and Friends Tour: This tour is all about the relatives and close friends who stayed at Biltmore House. It's our favorite of the tours. You'll walk through bedrooms not on the self-guided tour, see period clothing and items from the early 1900s, and learn about what it was like to be a houseguest at Biltmore.

The best thing about these tours is that it really brings a human aspect on Biltmore. To see the inner workings of the house and to hear about the people who lived and worked there when Mr. Vanderbilt and his family did is just fascinating and brings the house to life.

Guests of the Inn on Mill Creek can pick up two-day tickets at Biltmore Estate for $29/person -- a $10 discount off of the regular single day admission of $39 PLUS a free second day! The tickets give you full access to the grounds, including Biltmore House and Gardens, Winery, Antler Hill Village and restaurants on the Estate.

Think there's not much to do at Biltmore in wintertime? Think again. At Mother Nature's discretion, daytime temperatures at our elevation can sometimes reach into the upper 40s on a winter afternoon, and sunny days are the norm. So... even though you might not see abundant gardens in full bloom, you'll be able to walk beautiful nature trails through evergreen rhododendren and azalea down to the Bass Pond. And you can always venture into the huge glassed-roofed [and warm!] Conservatory to get your flower fix, like this gorgeous orchid:

Photo Credit for this pretty pic: Biltmore Facebook Page

Then there's the Winery with free wine tastings, Antler Hill Village with its great English tavern called Cedric's...we could go on.

You can pick up Biltmore two-day tickets at the Inn on Mill Creek on the day of your arrival. Please do keep in mind that all specialty tours (there are also tours at the Winery and the Farm) have an extra cost beyond the admission ticket price. You can make reservations for specialty tours by calling Biltmore at 800.411.3812.

Get a "Taste of Swannanoa" on January 28 updated with new location

2011-01-10T12:32:00.008-05:00

Black Mountain Chocolate will be part of the event...yum

Between the town of Black Mountain and Asheville, North Carolina, is the community of Swannanoa. Some people say Swannanoa gets its name from the Cherokee "Suwa li nunna hi" meaning "trail or path leading through Suala, Sara or Cherow" and some say it comes from the Cherokee meaning of "beautiful river". Regardless of the origin of the term Swannanoa, it has come to be a unique place where one can find art, education, recreation and, yes, great food. They don't call the Asheville area "Foodtopia" for nothing.

On Friday, January 28, visitors to our area will be able to sample some of Swannanoa's cuisine with Taste of Swannanoa. The event, sponsored by the Swannanoa Business Association, will be held at the Warren Wilson Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall [please note, this is an updated location] from 7pm to 10pm. Tickets are $15 in advance of the event (contact burhoej@gmail.com, or at participating restaurants, or at 828.337.4718) and $18 at the door.

Taste of Swannanoa will include live entertainment, cuisine from local gourmet caterers and restaurants, wine and beer, as well as raffles and prizes. And in keeping with the spirit of community giving that is the norm in our neck of the woods, diners are welcome to bring donations of coats, food or personal hygiene products for a local charity.

Participants include Anne's Custom Catering (provider of our delicious chocolate dipped strawberries!), Beacon Pub & Bistro, Black Mountain Chocolate, Chow Time Pizza, Doghouse & Dairy Bar, Fresh As Can Bee Catering, Moments Cafe & Patisserie, Okie Dokies Smokehouse and more, plus gourmet culinary instructors.

This being wintertime in the mountains, in case of inclement weather, the event will be postponed to Friday, February 4.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2010-12-30T16:43:00.006-05:00

We're starting a new feature on the blog for 2011: We thought it would be fun to post a recipe from our Black Mountain and Asheville area bed & breakfast each month. Then we thought, why not get started early and share a recipe for December? So as the year comes to a close, we bring you our banana chocolate chip muffin recipe. It originated as a bread recipe, but, as it turns out, it makes a much better muffin. [The photo above was taken this morning and is of our gluten free version. We've included that option with the recipe below.]

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
from Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast
Prep time: 20 minutes / Bake time: 30 minutes / Makes 10-12 muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar or sugar substitute
1 stick (8 Tbsp) butter or margarine, softened to room temperature
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips (chocoholics can add up to 1 cup...your choice!)

Preheat oven to 350.

In a mixing bowl, mix the butter and sugar well, then add eggs one at a time.
In a medium bowl, combine milk and bananas. We find a fork works best to mash the bananas. Mix in the cinnamon until blended.
In another bowl, combine sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add bananas to the butter/sugar/egg mixture, then add flour mixture until batter forms.
Add chocolate chips.
Spoon into greased muffin pans and bake for 30 minutes.
Serve warm or allow to cool -- either way they're good!

Gluten free guests give our gluten free version two thumbs up. To make gluten free muffins, just substitute the flour with the following mixture, which we found online. This makes 1 cup, so make sure you double it for this recipe:

2 Tbsp potato starch
1 tsp xantham gum or guar gum
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
Enough white rice flour to equal 1 cup with the above

Next Year's Garden Planning Begins

2010-12-21T10:19:00.002-05:00

As we celebrate the first day of Winter, we (meaning Brigette) also celebrate the fact that the first of our garden catalogs have arrived. Gold stars go to Bluestone Perennials in Ohio, and Witherspoon Roses in Durham, NC, for being early birds in the garden catalog distribution department! What better way to get through winter than to flip through a garden catalog, with it's colorful plants and flowers splashed on every page?

We've got a few garden spaces at the Inn and in 2011, we'll be working on enhancing two of them -- the Front Porch Garden and the Well Garden.

Near the base of the stone stairs leading to the Main House's original front porch is the Front Porch Garden. For the past three years, it has been the home of several hostas, a few daylilies, and our baby trees from the Arbor Day Foundation (mostly flowering trees like Dogwood and Washington Hawthorne). The trees will be ready to graduate to their permanent homes this Spring, so we'll be converting the nursery to a flower garden. Our current thought is to use deep purple, burgundy, crimson and rust-colored tones.

Joe Pye Weed coming to the Front Porch Garden in 2011

The Well Garden is a very small circular garden that was once the well for the property. This garden is one that we experimented with our first year, with a spiral pattern of lavender, agastache (hyssop), and pink coneflowers. This year, we may move the lavender and agastache but keep our spiral and enhance this sunny little garden with different colors of coneflowers, along with some evergreens...we're still deciding.

Stay tuned, and let us know if you have any thoughts about flowers to add to the Inn in 2011!

Wrapping Up Our Kiva Loans for 2010

2010-12-20T17:18:00.003-05:00

For the past four years, we've been participating in microloans to small business owners in developing countries through Kiva (http://www.kiva.org/).

On December 13, we got an e-mail that a journal entry had been posted about one of our loan recipients -- Babken from Armenia. Journal entries are a way for Kiva to keep in touch with lenders about the people they're helping. We've also gotten journal entries with video of one of our entrepreneurs, which was pretty cool.

The journal entry we received about Babken said he'd had good profits from his bakery business and was able to pay off his loan prematurely. What great news! To tell you a little about Babken (pictured below): he's a young man in his mid-20s with obvious business know-how, but who lacked the resources to grow his business.

With help of 113 lenders on Kiva, he secured a microloan and has taken his business and excelled at it in a very short period of time. He has been able to put himself through teacher-training school and was even able to buy a car with the profits he made, allowing him to deliver his baked goods to area shops. It's very humbling to be a part of someone's success and it was so inspiring to read about Babken's progress for the past year.

With Babken's loan paid off (congrats, Babken!), we had the option to reloan our funds, which we did. Our final Kiva loan for 2010 goes to Nelva from the Phillippines.

Nelva is in her mid-50s and has three adult children. For the past four years, she has owned her own business, making and selling snacks in her local community. She's getting a microloan from seven lenders on Kiva to buy raw ingredients, such as flour and peanuts, which will help her to keep growing her business and to improve her living situation. We're excited to see if any journal entries get posted while Nelva is paying off her loan to see how she's progressing.

2010 National Gingerbread House Competition and Display

2010-12-04T11:57:00.003-05:00

First place winner in the Youth category
Photo Credit: Gingerbread House Competition Facebook

One sweet event that's sure to get you in the holiday mood is the annual display of delicious looking entries in the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa's National Gingerbread House Competition, now in its 18th year. The competition brings a wealth of culinary talent from across the country and the entries are divided into four categories: Adult, Teen, Youth (ages 9-12) and Child (ages 5-8). Judging takes place in November, with 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners being awarded in each category based on overall appearance, originality and creativity, difficulty, precision, and consistency of theme (with competitors choosing their own theme).

You can see photos of the entries at Wright Creative's website, and photos of the winners are now on the National Gingerbread House Competition Facebook page.

If you'll be in the Asheville area, you can see the amazing display in person. The Grove Park Inn and the Grove Arcade, both in Asheville, have partnered to play hosts to the Gingerbread House Competition display. The Grove Park Inn allows public viewing of its competition display Monday through Thursday, while the Grove Arcade's display is open to the public from Monday through Saturday (10am to 6pm) and Sunday (noon to 5pm). The entries will be available for viewing through January 2, 2011.

Santa's Coming Down the Chimney

2010-11-30T21:57:00.005-05:00

Santa's going to be coming down the chimney soon -- at Chimney Rock Park, a beautiful state park just 30 minutes south of the Inn on Mill Creek. Before Santa makes his way down the chimneys at the houses of all the good boys and girls around the world, he'll be doing a dry run by rappelling down the Chimney Rock, a 315-foot monolith.

You'll have two opportunities to see Santa at the Chimney: Saturday, December 4 and Saturday, December 11, from 11am to 2pm.

Please note, if you visit Chimney Rock Park from December 1 through the winter season, you'll see improvements being made, including replacement of the Outcroppings Trail, which leads down to ground level from the Chimney Rock. This means that the Sky Lounge, the elevator, the Outcroppings Trail, the Moonshiner's Cave, the Birdhouse and the Skyline Trail will all be closed, and visitors (other than Santa) will not have access to the Chimney. However, several areas of the Park will be open, weather permitting, including the Hickory Nut Falls Trail, the Four Seasons Trail, the Meadows and the Great Woodland Adventure.

Black Mountain Holly Jolly and Christmas Parade

2010-11-26T11:08:00.005-05:00

The weekend of December 3-4, 2010, will be a special one for residents and visitors to Black Mountain, the closest town to the Inn on Mill Creek (approximately 10 minutes west).

First, on Friday, December 3, the annual Holly Jolly celebration takes place, including street festivities and a chance to do some Christmas shopping at the local stores, which will be open late. One of the things we love about Black Mountain are all of the unique local shops and galleries packed into a charming small town. A lot of the shops, including one of our favorites, Art from the Heart, carry handmade items from local artists and craftspeople, such as this awesome hummingbird pendant fashioned from none other than a scrabble tile.

On Saturday, December 4, Santa will be available for photos ($10) at the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber/Visitor Center from 10am-3pm. Refreshments will be served. Then, the Black Mountain Christmas parade, with over 100 entries, will be making its way through downtown at 4pm, followed by the annual Circle of Lights at Lake Tomahawk Park from 5pm-7pm. Circle of Lights is a free community celebration featuring 350 luminaries, live music, refreshments and a bonfire.

Davidson's Fort 2010 Fall Muster

2010-11-18T21:15:00.005-05:00

Davidson's Fort Spring Muster, 2010
Photo Credit: www.davidsonsfort.com

Our town, Old Fort, was named for Davidson's Fort, constructed in the summer of 1776 by North Carolina colonists/militiamen on the property of the Davidson family, one of the first settler families in the area. Old Fort was the westernmost outpost of colonial civilization at the time of the American Revolution and Davidson's Fort offered protection against the Cherokee, who had sided with the British.

Over the past few years, residents and historical enthusiasts have been reconstructing Davidson's Fort, located about 15 minutes from the Inn on Mill Creek. The Fort is a living history site open to the public on Saturdays and serves as an educational venue for school children. You can learn more about the Fort at www.davidsonsfort.com and via our Davidson's Fort blog posts.

On Saturday, November 27, 2010, re-enactors and guest historical interpretors will be at Davidson's Fort from 10am to 5pm during the Davidson's Fort Fall Muster. You'll be able to see what life was like in the late 1700s, when the pioneer spirit was essential in the wilderness of early America.

Latest Scoop on the McDowell Quilt Trail

2010-11-14T10:59:00.005-05:00

Unfolding Friendship Star at the McDowell Chamber/Visitor Center
Photo credit: www.mcdowellquilttrail.org

If you're interested in exploring Western North Carolina by car, there are several driving "trails" where you can check out the beautiful mountain scenery and learn more about the area. One such driving trail, the McDowell Quilt Trail, is right here in our own neck of the woods.

Sponsored by the McDowell Arts Council Association, the Quilt Trail was formally established in September of 2009, in our county, McDowell County, and now features more than 63 blocks! That's an average of more than one new quilt block per week being added to the Trail. The blocks are all unique and have been installed on barns, homes, businesses, libraries and even a school. The success of the Quilt Trail really speaks to our area's love of the arts, the growing appreciation of McDowell County's art and crafts heritage, and the area's strong sense of community.

We're proud to have two of the McDowell Quilt Trail blocks -- Evening Star (done in Spring colors) and Morning Star (done in Fall colors) -- at the Inn on Mill Creek. The blocks are located on the north and south sides of the Lake House:

A map of the McDowell Quilt Trail is below and available at www.mcdowellquilttrail.org (where you can also read about all the blocks, see a full list of blocks and their locations, and learn more about the Quilt Trail):

View McDowell Quilt Trail in a larger map

2010 Fall Foliage Report for the NC Mountains... Week 7

2010-11-04T20:59:00.005-04:00

The Point Lookout overlook...the greenway trail is 1.5 miles from the Inn

As we zip through week 7 of Autumn, Mother Nature is wrapping up this year's fall foliage season with the bronze and copper of maples and oaks at our elevation (2,300 ft). Most of the colors are past peak at higher elevations, giving a new look to the mountains as the lines on the ridges become more pronounced.

A lot of our guests are enjoying the Point Lookout Trail, a 3.5-mile greenway for bicyclists and pedestrians. The overlook for which the trail is named looked pretty spectacular a few days ago (we took the photo above of the Point Lookout view on October 27). And the drive down our road through Pisgah National Forest between Ridgecrest and the Inn is still very pretty, with a myriad of colors as some maples have been slow to change and have created a range of red and gold, orange and green. This is the first fall that the colors around the Inn on Mill Creek have been this varied at one point in time since we arrived in 2007.

This is the perfect time of year to put on some layers and listen to the Autumn-patented sound of leaves crunching under your feet as you walk on a nature trail, while watching the last of the fall colors drift down leaf by scarlet leaf all around you. For the end of the fall color season, we always recommend driving scenic Route 9 south out of Black Mountain to Chimney Rock Park, part of the "Gorge-ous" Hickory Nut Gorge area. The colors peak a little later than in our neck of the woods. The Park has several trails, including the Four Seasons Trail, which is great for a walk through a hardwood forest, and the Skyline Trail, which takes hikers to the highest point in the Park (aptly named Exclamation Point).

River Arts District Studio Stroll Coming Up

2010-11-04T17:58:00.004-04:00

Warehouse Studios, part of the River Arts District
Photo credit: www.riverartsdistrict.com

The River Arts District, which runs along the French Broad River on the west side of Asheville, was once home to factories and warehouses. Those old factories and warehouses have been given a second life as artists' studios, adding to Asheville's vibrant and amazing art scene.

On November 13 and November 14, 2010, the River Arts District community (more than 140 artists) will be welcoming art lovers to visit their studios in an event the artists host twice a year called the Studio Stroll. You'll see the impressive works of potters, sculptors, painters, photographers, weavers, woodworkers and more in the very place the art is created.

Cotton Mill Studios, part of the River Arts District
Photo credit: www.riverartsdistrict.com

The Studio Stroll will take place from 10am to 6pm on both days, and you can even ride the Asheville Historic Trolley for free between the studios. And if you miss the Studio Stroll, no worries, some of the studios are open year-round on certain days, some every day.

For more information about the River Arts District and the Studio Stroll, visit www.riverartsdistrict.com.

2010 Fall Foliage Report for the NC Mountains... Week 6

2010-10-27T20:45:00.007-04:00

At the beginning of this sixth week of Autumn in the mountains of Western North Carolina, we were enjoying the bright, sunny yellows of hickories, birch and some of the maples at our elevation (2,300 feet).

As the week has progressed, we've had quite the interesting weather pattern, including tornado watches! (Thankfully, the weekend forecast is calling for a lovely sunny weekend in the mid-60s.) The rain we did get was heavy enough to cause a lot of the yellow leaves to fall--early compared to the previous three years. Never fear, yellow leaf lovers, Mother Nature has left us with some standouts to enjoy this week, such as this golden beauty at the southern end of our property, which is still changing as of October 27.

With some of the yellows past peak now at our elevation, the oranges and reds are really shining through, as maples strut their stuff this week. Fiery red burning bushes are peaking (except for ours along the slope between the Main House and Lake House, which are still green!), and sumacs and oaks are giving us lots of red color as well, including the stunning scarlet oaks, but the maples are really stealing the show right now. These are trees near the southern end of our property:

Pretty magical looking, huh? Those were taken at dusk. And here's the road as you head toward the south end of the property, as of October 26:

This week, the road that brings you to our neck of the woods after you exit the highway provides a peak fall foliage view of a lovely area called Royal Gorge. This was taken on October 26, during the rainy weather:

As fall foliage season winds down, here are spots that have plenty of color to enjoy over the next several days:

Biltmore Estate -- The views and the grounds at Biltmore Estate are still beautiful as the colors change around Asheville. Along with the rooftop tour we suggested last week, another activity you can do to get out there and enjoy the fall foliage in the North Carolina mountains is touring around the Estate's bike trails. You can rent bikes at the Estate or bring your own.
McDowell County -- our county is an outdoor lover's paradise. Hiking trails (highly recommended: Catawba Falls), fishing opportunities and scenic drives are abundant. If you're interested in taking a scenic drive and learning about a neat connection being made between the history of handcrafts in the area and the present day, we suggest making some stops on the McDowell Quilt Trail. The Quilt Trail, a driving trail to see painted quilt blocks erected on homes, businesses (including ours!) and unique places, was established in September of 2009. There are more than 55 quilt blocks out there for you to discover.
Point Lookout Trail -- this trail is a paved 3.5-mile greenway bike/walking trail that was once the old highway running through the area (Old Highway 70). The trail is named for Point Lookout, an overlook on the trail with views of Royal Gorge (part of Royal Gorge pictured above). The Point Lookout Trail is an east-west scenic leg of a "triangle loop", connecting the southwest end of our road (the unpaved portion of Mill Creek Road) and the southeast end of the paved portion of Mill Creek Road. Adventurous/athletic guests like to do the "triangle loop", which is 8.5 miles of varying elevation changes. However, the Point Lookout Trail is lovely all by itself. The woodsy eastern end, especially, can take on a surreal movie-set-like quality, especially this time of year with leaves drifting down all around you.
Chimney Rock Park -- Our friends at Chimney Rock Park (a state park located about 30 minutes from the Inn on Mill Creek), tell us that the fall colors at the Park are close to peak. Chimney Rock Park is part of the Hickory Nut Gorge/Lake Lure area, and usually has nice fall foliage well into the first part of November, so we're pretty sure we'll be recommending them next week as well.

Next week will likely be our last week of reporting fall color in the area for this year. See you then!

Biltmore Christmas Candlelight Tickets (2010)

2010-10-26T17:55:00.004-04:00

Even though we're two months away from Christmas, the year is flying by and people are already asking about Biltmore Christmas Candlelight Evenings, which include evening tours of beautiful Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, decorated in all its Christmas splendor. The 175,000-square-foot home is dressed to the nines all throughout the year, but she really looks magnificent at Christmastime. It was Christmas Eve of 1895 when George Vanderbilt opened his home to friends and family for the first time, so it's a special holiday celebration that Biltmore continues to this day.

The 2010 Christmas at Biltmore celebration starts on Friday, November 5, and from then until January 2, you can expect to see the grand sights of the season, Biltmore-style: hundreds of poinsettias and wreaths, thousands of twinkling lights, miles of garland, and decorated trees around every corner, including an evergreen "forest" of trees and shrubs in front of the house and a 35-foot fraser in the seven-story Banquet Hall (a Biltmore tradition). Here's a cool time-lapse video from Biltmore Insider of the raising of the 2007 tree:

Dancers will be performing in the Winter Garden as well during Christmas at Biltmore. Additionally, you'll hear the sounds of holiday cheer, with storytellers telling Christmas tales, as well as carolers, choirs and musicians performing traditional songs.

The gated daytime admission price is $62/person during Christmas at Biltmore. Biltmore tickets purchased at the Inn are $50/person for our guests and are good for a free second day. Guests can purchase daytime tickets to Biltmore at any time, including during your stay. Biltmore Estate is located approximately 20 minutes west of the Inn on Mill Creek.

This year, we are proud to continue offering the chance for guests of the Inn on Mill Creek Bed & Breakfast to add a Christmas Candlelight Evening tour, a $10 upgrade. Here are more details about Candlelight Evening upgrades through the Inn on Mill Creek (and we'll go over this with you when you make your request by e-mail or by phone - 828.668.1115):

1) We request a three-day advance notice in order that we can process your ticket upgrade directly with Biltmore.

2) Ticket upgrades are day and time specific; evening tours can be scheduled as early as 5:30pm.

3) If you would like to have dinner on the Estate, we can help with making reservations. Cedric's at Antler Hill Village is the only one of Biltmore's restaurants not taking reservations this season.

4) As a Biltmore Estate lodging partner, our daytime admissions tickets are good for two consecutive days; your Candelight Christmas Evenings upgrade allows you to visit Biltmore during the day of your evening tour, as well as a full day after.

5) The $10 per person upgrade will be charged to your credit card when the tickets are processed, and the upgrade is nonrefundable.

6) Christmas Candlelight Evening tours available any date between Nov. 12 and Jan. 1, with the exception of Nov. 23, Nov. 25, Dec. 24, and Dec. 25.

2010 Fall Foliage Report for the NC Mountains... Week 5

2010-10-21T16:00:00.002-04:00

Generally the fifth week of Autumn marks the very start of peak fall foliage time at our elevation (2,300 feet above sea level). From October 20 through October 31, the ridges sparkle as the color makes its way like a slow-motion waterfall down from the higher elevations to our neck of the woods. We're lucky in that the mountains have several weeks of color in various places, easy to get to and worth driving to with the fall foliage providing perfect scenery for your drive.

This fall, some spots at our elevation are peaking early or very quickly, while other places are still green or just beginning to show serious color. For example, the two ridges on either side of the Inn on Mill Creek, Bernard Ridge and Horse Ridge, have had completely different fall foliage patterns, with Bernard Ridge changing and dropping leaves much faster than Horse Ridge. The mountains of Western North Carolina have certainly had a unique year in terms of weather, and that shows in the fall foliage that we're seeing now.

Quite a mixed color palette this year!

Now on to what you'll see when you visit over the next several days:

Several of our guests have remarked (and we agree!) that the yellows in the fall color palette are particularly brilliant this year, represented mostly in our neck of the woods by hickory and birch. In our opinion, the oranges of sassafras, maples and early changing oaks are tending to be a bit darker than year's past, and coupled with the yellows really bring a warm glow to the mountains.

Sassafras along the Forest Service road near the Inn

The maples in Pisgah National Forest around the Inn on Mill Creek are just starting to really show their stuff, with several maples having changed only at the furthest tips of the branches. They should look beautiful during the final week of October. Rusty oranges and new reds join the already brick-colored sumac and sourwoods as maples and oaks start to turn.

A still-fully green oak...they are among the last to change

Our tulip poplars are hanging on, although this isn't the best year for them. They're doing much better than last year, providing some pretty yellows throughout the woods.

To maximize your color viewing over the last part of October, we recommend the following places to visit:

Biltmore Estate -- Along with their stunning fall colors in the gardens at Biltmore, you'll see beautiful mountain vistas as you tour Biltmore House and the grounds. You can also take a guided rooftop tour, which is quite rewarding this time of year. For Biltmore's fall color report, visit www.biltmore.com/visit/house_gardens/gardens/fallcolor.asp
North Carolina Arboretum -- The North Carolina Arboretum has over 430 acres chock full of gardens and nature trails. It has a 360-degree view of the mountains surrounding the Arboretum, making it one of those perfect places for a walk among the fall foliage on a bright, sunny day (of which we have no shortage in the North Carolina mountains).
Lake Tomahawk in Black Mountain, and Lake Susan in Montreat -- Just a few minutes from the Inn are two very pretty lakes, with walking loops around them and picturesque views of the mountains. Lake Tomahawk in particular has stunning views of the Seven Sisters, a line of seven peaks that overlook the town of Black Mountain.
Mt. Pisgah -- Heading south on the Blue Ridge Parkway out of Asheville, you'll enjoy the fall foliage of Pisgah National Forest while making your way to Milepost 407.6. At the back of the parking lot is a 1.5-mile (one-way) hike to the summit of Mt. Pisgah. At more than 5,700 feet in elevation, you'll catch some gorgeous views of the mountains. And just beyond the Mt. Pisgah trailhead is the Pisgah Inn, a fantastic place for lunch or dinner. Keep in mind, the Pisgah Inn closes at the end of October for the season.

We'll see you in a few days for Week 6!

Blue Ridge Fiber Show

2010-10-20T18:56:00.001-04:00

Here's a cool event that our guests told us about -- From now through November 28, 2010, the Western North Carolina Fibers/Handweavers Guild is sponsoring an exhibit featuring fiber crafts at one of our favorite places, the North Carolina Arboretum. On weekends, they'll also be doing periodic demonstrations of fiber artistry such as spinning and weaving.

See a list of exhibitors, categories, the demonstration schedule and more about the Blue Ridge Fiber Show: Inspirations from Nature at www.wncfhg.org/brfs10/brfs.html.

Also, check out Leigh's Fiber Journal for photos of the exhibit, such as this fantastic one:

Credit: Leigh's Fiber Journal

2010 Fall Foliage Report for the NC Mountains... Week 4

2010-10-12T20:15:00.006-04:00

Closeup of crimson leaves near the Inn's orchard

What a difference a week makes. Glittering gold, amazing orange and stunning scarlet are washing down the mountains right now, coloring the ridges at 3,000 feet and higher. Portions of the Blue Ridge Parkway are peaking near Grandfather Mountain (see www.grandfather.com for gorgeous photos) and Craggy Gardens.

Here at our elevation (2,300 feet), we've enjoyed the past few days as the fall foliage speeds ahead, changing last week's green to a more varied color palette near Black Mountain and Asheville. Here's a photo taken yesterday at the Inn on Mill Creek:

At the Inn, Dogwoods and sourwoods are keeping their red leaves, with sumac and maples joining them. We're also starting to see a lot of birch and beech trees turning brilliant shades of yellow. Even some of the tulip poplars are more yellow than last year, when they were mostly brown (although their leaves are falling faster than the other trees).

Here's what you'll see this week when you approach the south end of the Inn's property:

This past weekend, we took the innpugs for a nice stroll on the pretty half-mile walking trail around Lake Tomahawk north of downtown Black Mountain. The sky was a perfect Carolina blue and the mountains provided a beautiful backdrop. We recommend visitors enjoy Lake Tomahawk for yourselves when you come to our neck of the woods over the next several days.

Another great place to see is Montreat, the charming town north of Black Mountain. Montreat is home to a lovely college and conference center, home to Rev. Billy Graham, and home to lots and lots of excellent hiking trails, including Lookout Mountain and Greybeard Mountain, both of which afford excellent views of the mountains in full fall splendor. Go to www.montreat.org/programs/wilderness to download a Montreat trail map (also available at the Inn).

Our Newest Kiva Loan

2010-10-07T08:10:00.000-04:00

One of our Kiva loans, to Leonora in the Philippines, has been paid off (congratulations, Leonora!), allowing us to relend our money, and our latest loan is going to Marine in Armenia (pictured above). Marine is a young woman who lives with her three brothers and parents. She rents retail space for selling shoes -- cute ones -- which made choosing this loan so easy for Brigette!

Marine needed a loan to purchase new inventory, which will satisfy her longstanding customers, and will probably bring in new customers, too, helping her to grow her small business. We, along with 90 other lenders all over the world contributed to a microloan for Marine. It's always interesting to see where other lenders come from. Marine's lenders include people from our own stomping grounds of Cincinnati and Lorain, Ohio.

This is our 23rd loan since we bought the Inn on Mill Creek, and our second loan to a small business owner in Armenia. You can read more about our Kiva experiences on this blog.

Learn more about fighting global poverty by microlending to small business owners in developing countries at www.kiva.org.

2010 Fall Foliage Report for the NC Mountains... Week 3

2010-10-05T20:58:00.007-04:00

A bit of color splashing through our "Dr. Suess" trees at the Inn

Welcome, October! Week three of Fall has begun and it's been fairly chilly in the mornings and evenings, so bring layers to wear when you come to visit us in the North Carolina mountains because while there might be a chill in the air during breakfast, the sunshine can warm up the afternoons into the mid-70s, making for perfect leaf hunting opportunities.

The cooler temperatures will hopefully bring about more rapid leaf color over the next couple of weeks. Green is still the dominant color at our elevation (2,300 feet) around Asheville and Black Mountain, but bits of color are being reported at elevations above 4,000 feet along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The trees currently providing an intro to this year's fall color show include the reds of dogwoods and sourwoods and the yellows of a handful of birch trees and tulip poplars. Many trees are getting lighter and will be letting loose with their colors over the next few weeks. We're also enjoying color from wildflowers and shrubs such as coreopsis, goldenrod and burning bushes, the latter turning a very vibrant red...just a taste of color to come.

With its beautiful panoramic views and varied elevations, the Blue Ridge Parkway is always a good option for early October leaf peeping. One of our favorite drives is scenic Highway 80 through McDowell County up to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Head south on the Parkway and enjoy several overlooks as you gain in elevation on the way to Mt. Mitchell State Park, where you can then head a short distance on Highway 128 to the highest mountain in the eastern United States and catch some great views of the peaks below, or head further south on the Parkway to the Greybeard Mountain overlook at Milepost 363 and the Craggy Dome overlook at Milepost 364, both of which are at around 5,600 feet and allow for views of the mountains at the 4,000+ ft. range.

An Interesting Bird Day at the Inn

2010-10-05T20:46:00.000-04:00

Our Eastern Phoebe, striking a pose

As many of you know, the Inn on Mill Creek is a site in the Mountains Region of the North Carolina Birding Trail, a state-wide driving trail of sites where people who love birds can do some quality bird watching. Thanks to our guest, Richard, we are also birding Hotspot on www.ebird.org (a joint project of Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology).

We see our fair share of birds here at the Inn; there are over 120 species of birds who make their home here at different times of the year.

This time of year in particular, we see lots of birds heading to their vacation homes in the south. One such bird is the Black-throated Blue Warbler. These little guys can be found hanging around our neck of the woods from Spring until Fall, before migrating south to the Caribbean for the winter (lucky birds!). To be honest, we hear them a lot, but they aren't the easiest to spot because they are small and like to stay in the woods.

So imagine our surprise when one flew into a window at the Inn. At first, we thought the worst, but it turned out he was just stunned. Brigette helped him gently back over toward the woods and waited while he regained his little legs under him, chirped a few times and headed back into the trees.

Not more than an hour later, Brigette was outside again and spotted our resident Eastern Phoebe, or rather, the Phoebe spotted Brigette. [That's our Phoebe at the beginning of this blog post...it's very photogenic.] This little bird has lived above the Front Porch door at the Inn for more than three years now, and it has become pretty social. You may remember the baby Phoebe incident of 2009. Well, ever since then, our Phoebe likes to follow us around sometimes.

This day, the Phoebe was puttering around the driveway (there it is, pictured above, keeping an eye on things) and then it decided to check out the swing that Dave recently installed. It's good to know the Phoebe approves of our newest project at the Inn!

Can you spot the Phoebe, perched on the back of the swing in the photo below? It hung out there for quite some time, wagging its tail like it always does.

If you enjoy birding, let us know when you visit the Inn and we'll give you a list of birds that you might see and hear while you're on the property. And be sure to check out www.ncbirdingtrail.org for more birding sites near the Inn on the North Carolina Birding Trail. Most are public sites, while others, like ours, is private and available to the public by appointment.

2010 Fall Foliage Report for the NC Mountains: Weeks 1 and 2

2010-09-27T17:03:00.008-04:00

Forsythia leaves

Fall has reached us, finally! Hope you had a good summer. It was a fairly hot summer this year in the North Carolina mountains, with several areas seeing record temperatures. (Grandfather Mountain tied a previous all-time high record of 83 degrees to give you perspective.) In our neck of the woods, we saw a few days in the 90s, and it was fairly humid, too, so we were ready for Autumn to arrive...and arrive it did.

Our hydrangeas showing off their fall appearance

Week one of Fall brought cool nights and tiny bits of fall color popping up here and there. The tulip poplars -- which did not have a great fall last year -- seem to be the first to start changing again, and they're a little more golden than brown this year. Those trees have provided some of our brightest colors in early fall since we've been at the Inn, so we're crossing our fingers and hoping they deliver some nice fall foliage this year.

Our butternut trees (also known as "white walnut") along the Inn's driveway are also some of our earliest changers and we notice them lightening up and turning more yellow as September comes to a close, about a week ahead of last year's schedule.

One of the butternut trees, seen through the Great Room window

Week two has begun with a few of our sourwood trees showing off their brilliant red fall foliage:

Also, the tulip poplars keep changing, and other trees, such as birch and maples, have just a hint of leaf color variation. For the most part, though, trees are still lush and green at our elevation, 2,300 feet above sea level. Here's part of Bernard Ridge at the Inn:

We have no idea what to expect in 2010 in terms of how quickly the leaves will change and how brilliant the fall foliage in the North Carolina mountains will be because the weather has been so unique this year, but with hundreds of thousands of acres of National Forest surrounding us and the Black Mountain/Asheville area at varying elevations, we remain optimistic for a good color show.

If you'll be visiting our area in late September and early October, the higher elevations of the Blue Ridge Parkway (5,000-6,000+ feet) are your best bet to catch early color. The views along the Parkway are lovely this time of year, especially near high spots like Mt. Mitchell State Park and Grandfather Mountain.

September Geocaching in the Forest

2010-09-25T07:54:00.013-04:00

It's been a while since we've posted about geocaching, but never fear, it's on our (read: Brigette's) minds a lot, especially since fellow geocachers have recently been busy hiding lots of caches in the woods just down the road from the Inn on Mill Creek. Over the past few months, we haven't had the opportunity to go geocaching, so those caches have been sitting there taunting us all summer long.

If you're a geocaching enthusiast, you will understand what we mean by geocaches taunting us when you see this Google map. This is within a little over a mile of the Inn (smiley faces are the ones we'd found before September; stars are caches that we've hidden). Yes, those are 18 geocaches recently planted that we've had to wait until now to get.

Then September arrived, and we were able to do some hiking and geocaching with our frequent guests-turned-friends (griends? frests?) and fellow geocachers, Travis and Nicole.

We set out on the Forest Service access roads that cross over our road and even though we didn't go for all the caches, we were able to find the ones that we did set out to get. Here's Travis navigating through the 6-foot tall brush to get to one of the caches (the wildflowers were beautiful, by the way):

On our way back, we swung by one of the caches (pictured at the top of this post) that we've hidden on our property in the woods to check on it. Maintenance is an important part of geocaching. Other than being a few feet away from where it's supposed to be and looking like a furry critter had been playing with it, it was in pretty good shape and there were lots of goodies inside that cachers had traded in and out.

After a brief hiatus, we're ready to get back into the geocaching swing of things!

Interested in learning more about geocaching? Here's an animated video from www.geocaching.com that explains just what geocaching entails.

Thinking about geocaching when you stay at the Inn? You're in luck. The Asheville/Black Mountain area is well represented in the world of geocaching. There are over 100 caches hidden within five miles of the Inn.

2010 Old Fort Oktoberfest

2010-09-24T22:16:00.004-04:00

Old Fort Oktoberfest is an annual family-friendly festival that takes place the first weekend in October. This year, on October 1, 2, and 3, the charming small town of Old Fort, North Carolina, will celebrate fall in the mountains and our local artists and businesses by showcasing local handmade arts and crafts, offering children's activities, great food from local vendors and entertainment by local musicians. The festival has such a wonderful emphasis on community, history and mountain heritage -- it's what truly makes the small towns in Western North Carolina, like Old Fort, such special places.

Old Fort Oktoberfest is an alcohol-free event and takes place on the grounds of the Mountain Gateway Museum in downtown historic Old Fort. Hours are 9am-8pm on Friday and Saturday (October 1-2) and 12pm-8pm (Sunday).

This year, Oktoberfest is also featured as one of the local events connected to the Blue Ridge Parkway 75th Anniversary Celebration (www.blueridgeparkway75.org).

Fall 2010 East of Asheville Studio Tour

2010-09-16T13:28:00.004-04:00

The gorgeous work of EAST artist Peggy Taylor, Willow Wisp Farm Studios

The East of Asheville Studio Tour (E.A.S.T.) is a very cool event that takes place twice a year in our neck of the woods. Artists from Black Mountain, Swannanoa, Fairview and East Asheville open their studios to the public for free self-guided tours and the chance to meet the artists and view their work. This year, E.A.S.T. is a participant in American Craft Week (October 1-10), a celebration of handmade American crafts.

On October 9 and October 10, from 10am until 6pm, the studios will be open, and some artists will be doing demonstrations. There are more than 30 stops on the tour this time around, and you can visit as many as you like for free. All types of art will be represented, such as sculpture, drawings, paintings, wood, glass, fiber, leather, paper, metal and clay, photography, pottery, custom furniture, and more. This tour is a great testament to the fabulously eclectic mix of talented local artists we have in the area. We're very proud to be one of E.A.S.T.'s sponsors year after year.

If you miss this tour, no worries, the next tour has already been scheduled for May 7-8, 2011.

For more information or to download a tour map, visit www.eaststudiotour.com. Maps are also available at the Inn on Mill Creek.

Our Newest Kiva Borrower

2010-08-31T22:40:00.000-04:00

Our love-love relationship with Kiva continues. For the past few years, we've participated in Kiva's microlending program, where we pool our money with other lenders from around the world -- just regular people like us -- to fund business loans for impoverished small business owners in developing countries.

It's been rewarding seeing our borrowers thrive in their businesses and using their loans to help lift themselves out of poverty. One of our borrowers who lives in Togo, restaurateur and father of four, Yao, recently paid off the loan he borrowed for his restaurant business. With our funds ready to reloan, we chose David (pictured below).

David makes custom furniture and has owned his own shop in Kenya for 18 years. His loan, funded by 28 lenders in the U.S., Australia, Japan and Belgium, will be used to buy timber for making more furniture, which will help his business to succeed, hopefully enough to allow him the funds for buying a vehicle for furniture delivery (one of his long term goals). David's loan entry also happened to be one that Innkeeper Brigette edited in August as part of Kiva's Editing Team, so we feel connected to David. Our best wishes to him for success in the future!

Flowers at Biltmore

2010-08-30T06:01:00.001-04:00

We were fortunate to see the Biltmore Estate Flower Carpet (pictured above) on a beautiful and sunny August afternoon. The Flower Carpet was constructed from more than 155,000 live plants and flowers and designed to match a portion of the La Farge stained glass window that Mr. Vanderbilt inherited from his father. (The stained glass window is on display in Antler Hill Village.).

After checking out the Flower Carpet, we strolled around and came to the Italian Garden, which is situated near Biltmore House. It consists of three pools with water plants and neat statues all around, surrounded by hedges. If water plants are your thing, you will absolutely love this garden. We don't remember it ever looking as good as it does this year, absolutely magical. Here are some photos for your enjoyment:

More photos are available in the Places Nearby photo album on our Bed & Breakfast Facebook page. We hope you'll join us on our Facebook page. We always enjoy hanging out with our Facebook friends.

The 2010 Flower Carpet at Biltmore Estate will be viewable through September 12, and the rest of the gorgeous plants and flowers that make up the Biltmore gardens are worth a visit this time of year. Don't forget that as our guest, you can purchase Biltmore tickets here at the Inn for your convenience at a discount ($50/person), and your ticket will be good for a free second day.

Afternoon on the Hydrangeas

2010-08-14T09:53:00.008-04:00

This summer, we've enjoyed watching a myriad of butterflies and bees happily fluttering around our hydrangeas between the Main House and Lake House. This is a spot where we and our guests watch birds at the feeder throughout the year (such as Mr. Titmouse and his friends in the winter and spring), but other winged creatures have provided a lot of entertainment lately. We took some photos recently ~ enjoy!

2010 North Carolina State Bluegrass Festival

2010-08-13T18:52:00.006-04:00

The North Carolina State Bluegrass Festival will be held in Marion, NC, this year, at the Tom Johnson Camping Center's Rally Park (30 minutes east of the Inn on Mill Creek). From Thursday, August 19, through Saturday, August 21, bluegrass music will fill the air in McDowell County.

Bring your chair and listen to the following bluegrass entertainers this year:

Thursday, August 19 - Gloria Belle & Tennessee Sunshine, The Crowe Brothers, Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers, David Peterson & 1946, Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-press, and Dailey & Vincent

Friday, August 20 - The Next Best Thing Bluegrass Band, The Bluegrass Brothers, Cedar Hill, Goldwing Express, J.D. Crowe & The New South, and Rhonda Vincent & The Rage

Saturday, August 21 - Raymond Fairchild & The Maggie Valley Boys, The Little Roy & Lizzy Show, The Inspirations, The Grascals, Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers, and Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

Here's a sampling of what you'll hear -- turn up your sound and enjoy! This is the Next Best Thing Bluegrass Band:

And here are the Bluegrass Brothers:

Just two of several fine bands that are part of the North Carolina State Bluegrass Festival this year. Tickets for the festival are $35 for each day, at the gate, with no parking fee.

2010 North Carolina Mountains: Fall Foliage

2010-08-07T23:45:00.007-04:00

Eight weeks and counting to the start of fall foliage season

With the piping hot summer we've been having (here in the mountains of Western North Carolina, Grandfather Mountain hit an all-time record high of 83 degrees in July and we've had upper 80s more than a few times these past few weeks in our neck of the woods), we're really looking forward to welcoming the crisp coolness of fall, and with it, the sparkly yellows, fiery reds and blazing oranges that envelop our mountains each year.

By late September, we'll see bits of color here and there at the higher elevations, mid- to late October typically brings gorgeous peak fall colors to our elevation at places like Biltmore Estate and the North Carolina Arboretum, and in early November, leaf peepers should still be enjoying a beautiful backdrop of color just south of us at places like Chimney Rock Park.

Wondering what times are the best for visiting the North Carolina mountains for fall foliage? We have the details in a blog post we did about this time last year answering lots of questions about fall foliage in the North Carolina mountains.

And just as in years' past, we'll keep you up to date on what trees are putting on a show and where you can find the fall foliage peak each week with Fall Foliage Reports for our elevation in the NC mountains (2,300 feet above sea level) and beyond. Plus, we'll also be recommending fantastic fall color viewing opportunities from the highest elevations of the Black Mountains to the foothills nearby.

Can you tell, we're excited about Autumn!

2010 Sourwood Festival in Black Mountain

2010-07-31T14:06:00.006-04:00

The 33rd Annual Sourwood Festival will be held August 14-15, 2010, in Black Mountain, NC, a charming artsy town that's just 12 minutes from the Inn on Mill Creek.

Logo designed by George White
of Black Mountain and Greensboro, NC

The Sourwood Festival, sponsored by the Black Mountain-Swannanoa Chamber of Commerce, is an annual street festival where you can browse the arts and crafts of hundreds of vendors, see honey bee demonstrations and sample festival food. Plus, festival-goers will be entertained all weekend long by local singers and performers, including the Flat Creek Boys, the Asheville Clogging Company, David Cody, the Black Mountain Ramblers and Cheri Cagle, just to name a few. [Visit the Black Mountain Music Scene site for the full list of entertainers.]

In conjunction with the festival, singers will compete for cash prizes in the Sourwood Idol contest on Friday, August 13, to be held from 7pm to 11pm under the Big Entertainment Tent on Sutton Avenue in downtown Black Mountain, while early risers can catch a 5K run/walk at 8:30am on August 14, at Cheshire Fitness Club just south of downtown.

What is sourwood, you ask? The sourwood tree and our lovely honey bees provide our area with very tasty local sourwood honey (which we like to use in our breakfast recipes, such as the one for Brigette's fresh fruit honey lime cocktail). The sourwood tree has white blooms in the summertime, and its leaves put on a fiery red color display each autumn. It's a beautiful tree, worthy of having a festival named after it, that's for sure!

For more details about the annual Sourwood Festival, which also has been included in this year's events celebrating the Blue Ridge Parkway's 75th anniversary, visit www.exploreblackmountain.com.

July Blooms at the Inn

2010-07-20T20:09:00.008-04:00

July has been a bit warm here in our neck of the woods near Asheville and Black Mountain, North Carolina. Dry, too, at least in our immediate area. Today, it was 88 degrees, which is several degrees above normal, but we got a nice evening rain that made our plants happy and cooled off our "neighborhood" inside Pisgah National Forest quite nicely.

The heat-loving blooms in our garden this month include bee balm, liatris/blazingstar, daisies, coneflowers, daylilies, butterfly bushes and tall garden phlox. Our roses and hydrangeas are having a good year as well. Enjoy these photos taken in July at the Inn (and more on our B&B Facebook page):

This bee went 'round and 'round this liatris for about 5 minutes
like he was going up and down a spiral staircase

Bee balm next to autumn clematis makes our hummingbirds happy

Brigette's daisies in the White Garden in front of white ornamental grass

Blooms coming soon: sedum, autumn clematis, aster

Biltmore Flower Carpet Evenings 2010

2010-07-10T14:54:00.006-04:00

Biltmore Estate will offer a late summer treat for visitors again this year with its flower carpet. The 2010 Biltmore Flower Carpet installation will include more than 155,000 plants, covering the majority of the South Terrace. The design this year is based on a La Farge stained glass window that Mr. Vanderbilt inherited from his father.

Not only can you enjoy the Flower Carpet during the day, but you also have the opportunity to view Biltmore Estate and the Flower Carpet in the evenings, complete with live jazz and candlelight, during the following Fridays and Saturdays: August 20, 21, 27, 28, September 10 and 11.

Even more good news: When you stay at the Inn on Mill Creek, you can buy discounted tickets for Biltmore at $50/person (which includes access to Biltmore House, Antler Hill Village and the Winery, the Gardens and the restaurants), and you can add a Flower Carpet Evenings visit at just $10 per ticket. This upgrade allows you to visit Biltmore House for a self-guided tour between 5pm and 8pm on the night of the Flower Carpet Evening date you choose. And as always, our tickets are good for a free second day at Biltmore. Please allow 48 hours for us to process your upgrade.

Biltmore began creating flower carpets in 2008. Here's a photo we took of last year's Flower Carpet, a fleur-de-lis pattern (wish we could have gotten higher up to get a better shot because it was amazing):

And here is a time-lapse video featured on BiltmoreInsider of the 2008 Flower Carpet installation:

2010 Park Rhythms Concert Series in Black Mountain

2010-07-03T15:03:00.006-04:00

Dehlia Low will perform July 8 at Park Rhythms in Black Mountain
[photo: Dehlia Low Facebook Page]

Black Mountain Recreation & Parks is currently putting on its 15th season of Park Rhythms, a series of outdoor summer concerts every Thursday evening. Bring a blanket or chair to Lake Tomahawk Park and hear live music from 7pm to 9pm. Local restaurants sell food during the concerts as well, so you can also enjoy some local cuisine while you're listening to our local singers and bands. And thanks to several of our area businesses who sponsor Park Rhythms, the shows are free to the public.

Park Rhythms kicked off this year with Kat Williams, followed by Westsound and Motownblue. If you're in our neck of the woods on a Thursday night, you can catch one of the remaining shows this season:

July 8: Dehlia Low: www.dehlialow.com
July 15: Firecracker Jazz Band: http://firecrackerjazz.com
July 22: AppalachiaSong: www.graybeardgraphics.com/appbio.htm
July 29: Kellin Watson: www.kellinwatson.com
August 5: Swayback Sisters: www.myspace.com/theswaybacksisters

Northern Cardinal Feeding Lesson

2010-06-23T15:15:00.004-04:00

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!

2010-06-23T12:43:00.003-04:00

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

2010-06-18T21:26:00.005-04:00

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

2010-06-16T18:15:00.007-04:00

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

2010-06-12T16:00:00.004-04:00

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.

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