Good Day!

My husband and I were able to stay at the cottage last weekend. It's getting cold, and there was a little snow on the ground, left over from the first snow of the year up there.

Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter are all beautiful in the mountains. Hope you visit, soon!

Weekday Special!

Note: We have available dates right this minute, as we speak!

I really just wanted an excuse to use
Layla's picture on the cottage website!



For those of you who are on a budget but have a taste for fancy evening gloves and mink hats (like our girl Layla who really wanted to eat that mink hat), the Cottage on the New is the place to go!

If you book four consecutive weeknights, you get a fifth weeknight free!

The cottage is awesome, with the river running right through the front yard. Check out the photos below.

You're going to love the cottage!

Deborah

Last Minute Booking

We've had an exciting new year.

Before January, my husband had been driving from Hickory to Charlotte...for about 20 years! So when he got a new job 30 minutes deeper into Charlotte, we realized we would need to find apartment in that area, but keep our house in Hickory. Since then, we have also been traveling with my husband's new job, and going back and forth between the house and the apartment, visiting with our many children and grandkids. So as you can imagine, I haven't been able to keep up with listing the cottage as often as well as I did last year, or check my messages right away.

This is a favorite Blue Ridge Parkway view.
 I have painted it several times,
and on the day I took this picture, I noticed
a photography class field trip going on at the top of the "hill".

Lucky for you, this means I have more available dates than I had last summer. Don't worry. The cottage is adorable, in excellent condition and in an ideal river front location. As a matter of fact, I can say with confidence that it is one of the nicest vacation rentals around.

Another view of my favorite hill. This is the view I usually paint.

Now I am actively working on the cottage rentals again. You are always welcome to email me at cottageonthenew@yahoo.com or call and see if you can book for a last-minute stay, because we do have availability right now, and I'm always happy to assist when the cottage booking is open. If you call, please leave a message and state your number twice. I will always try to return a call if I can, to let you know to keep looking, but if I don't call right back, you can usually be assured that it is already booked. However, do email me as well, at cottageonthenew@yahoo.com, just in case.

This is the second bedroom; very peaceful!

The Boone area is a great area for photographers and artists.
Everywhere I look, there is something wonderful that I must preserve on camera.

Thanks so much for your interest in our cottage. Do keep us in mind for the next time you have time for a mountain getaway. Be sure to scroll down and see photos of some of the wonders we have to offer.

If you "friend" us here on the website, you will receive my occasional postings, and keep up on the news of "what's happening" at the cottage.

Thanks! Deber

It's Summer Time, and the Livin' Is Easy!

Oh, I know it's not quite summer, but it sure does feel like it, and there's nothing quite as lovely as summer in the Cottage on the New.

With the good old New River running right through the front yard, there's so much to do when the weather is warm! First of all, you can go wading and swimming, right in the front yard. There's inner tubing, kayaking, canoeing, water skiing...okay, I'm teasing. No water skiing. But fishing, bike riding, hiking along the ridge...


Inner tubes waiting out a shower.

I thought I'd put a few pictures to let you see what you're in for if you should decide to book a stay at the cottage. Send us an email soon (at cottageonthenew@yahoo.com), so you will be sure to get the date you want at the cottage. By the way, the best deal is to book a full week!

See you soon!

(Scroll down for lots of summer photos!)


View of our low water bridge from the front porch of the cottage.



This is Mo Bear, my son's dog, going for a little swim.
She can't resist a dip on a hot summer day.

The river gets pretty busy in the summer.
River Road is two miles long, and the cottage is half-way down the road.

My grandson's first fish,
caught about this time last year.

This is the view from the bridge,
taken one afternoon last October.

The wildlife is abundant along the river...
so is yard art.

Inside the cottage living room

You'll always be welcome at the cottage.
(The fact that there are no moose in North Carolina
did not stop me from buying this little plaque for the front door.)



There are lots of nice places around the area where you can
enjoy a good beer and a sandwich with friends and family.



The moon and stars are especially beautiful at the cottage,
because there are no city lights to compete with their glow.

This is the view looking across the river from the cottage's large,
covered front porch.

One afternoon as we prepared dinner on the grill,
we spotted these deer grazing in the pasture across the river from the cottage.
Very peaceful.



More of the New River's wild life...



My daughter and her boyfriend pet the neighbor's dog.

Another photo of the beautiful view of farmland
and mountains from the cottage porch.

Same view; early morning.

Pretty little kitchen. Well equipped, too.

This is the Master Bedroom.

They grow sugar cane on the farm across the road/river from the cottage.
Sometimes I get great photos.

Isn't she a beauty?
I saw this little sweety driving around the countryside
on the way to the cottage.
(Actually, I didn't see her driving...I was driving!
Everybody over three years old knows that donkeys can't drive!)
She was just standing in a pasture off of Big Hill Road which
is another way toward the cottage, off of HWY 194.

Moooo.

From the parkway, this might have been a winter photo.
The Blue Ridge Parkway isn't far from the cottage,
and offers gorgeous vistas of the mountains.

Tulip Season

Is that a warm breeze I'm feeling in my hair?

Buttercups from last May, near Boone.

Not yet, you say?

The breezes are definitely warmer than they were a month or two ago!
So, of course, I'm not worried. Though we have had a cool spring this year, we are talking about the Blue Ridge Mountains. And what people love about visiting there (besides the breath taking views and fun activities) is the climate - when it's hot, cold and cool.

This is a field near the cottage. I took this photo from the road. I love the rock outcroppings in the mountains.

As a matter of fact, things are starting to get downright bloomy in the mountains, as it should be this time of year. I was in the mountains just the other day, and the dogwoods and wild flowers are blooming, especially along the creeks and rivers. Apple trees are blooming. (One of my favorite things is seeing the hillsides full of apple trees in full bloom!) Wild Yellow Primrose, Buttercups and of course, Dandilions, are all blooming now. The Catawba trees are blooming, too. I don't have a photo, but they have large coned shaped clusters of purple blooms on the end of each branch.

This view is from the Parkway, heading north from Banner Elk, or south from West Jefferson.

People are starting to reserve their summer vacation dates right now. It's a good time to do so. Once it gets closer, especially to the holiday dates, it will get more and more difficult to find available cottages.

Be sure to look into our summer rates, which are on the upper righthand side of this page. I think you will find them quite reasonable for this area. Week long visits will get you the best value for your money.

Bob, bob, bobbing along...or rollin', rollin', rollin' down the river...View from the "big" bridge over the New River. You turn right after this bridge, and follow the river one mile down to the cottage's little low water bridge.

Hope to see you this summer! You don't want to miss it.

Deber

Super Low Rates...At Least for Today!



View of Highway 321, just outside of Blowing Rock on Sunday evening.
The sun was low, and sleepy clouds rested in the valley below. Views from the cottage are pictured throughout this website. It is right smack on the river, so its in the New River valley, with close mountains and rural farm views.



Right now our off-season rates are unbelievably low, but we will be raising them very soon.

Look on the upper right side of this page and click on the "Rates and Payment Details" page to check out our winter rates. If you book right away, these rates are good for the months of March and April. But we are planning on changing them on March 11th, so you will have to email me quickly to assure getting the low sale rate. Those super dooper rates will not be available once they're changed.

Bare branches here on these trees, but the tips of many tree branches are swelling with new life.

As is the habit of North Carolina's consistently unpredictable weather, Lady Spring is teasing us again. She has made her early appearance, but as always, we don't know if she's here for the season or if she's going to back off and let Old Winter have a “Last Hurrah” later in the month.

But for now, we are enjoying gorgeous weather. The nights are romantic with clear, cold starry skies; perfect for using the fireplace. The days have been beautiful and chilly, too. I do see some rain in the forecast later; if you want to see what’s happening in the next 10 days or so, here’s a website where you can check things out: http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USNC0072

One little, two little, three little tootsies, four little, five little, six little tootsies, seven little, eight little, nine little tootsies. Ten little tiny girl toes.

On the personal side, I have been up to Boone twice in the last week, from Charlotte. That's because we have a new baby in the family. My son and his wife now have a little girl, completing their set of two...so far. You know what I mean. Like salt matches pepper, they now have a tiny, soft daughter to match their brawny rough and tumble three and a half year old son. And as you can imagine, we are all delighted.

After a sudden but brief downpour on Sunday, I found this tree had zebra patterns dripping beneath some of the branches.

Boone's mountains are a rain forest, as I have told you before. Rain, shine, winter, spring, summer or fall, the mountains are a magical place to hang your hat. Even if only for a couple of days to get away from the hustle and bustle of home. Come to our place. I think you'll find it cozy and warm.

Snow's On Its Way...Again!

To look out my Charlotte window this morning, I would never believe that snow is on its way to North Carolina yet again. It's a gorgeous golden turquoise day; warm rays of sunshine glinting off the feathers of the hungry Chickadees at the feeder outside. But...

Snowfall Along a North Carolina Creek

I just heard that its going to snow tonight. Yep. Again.

I have been crazy busy these last few weeks moving, as I said in the previous post. (For those of you who don't believe in phrases like "crazy busy", I'm sorry, but it fits.) Now, after a few weeks of rest, I am re-listing our little Cottage on the New just so we can share it with nice folks like you. (Or so we can pay the mortgage...hmmm...) We will be reviewing our very low winter prices this week, and may be raising them soon, so if you are dying to get to the mountains this month to make angels in the cold, mountain snow and later sit by the fire warming your adorable little piggies (yes, we have propane logs, so its easy as pie!), you'll need to book it immediately! Otherwise there may be some changes in the pricing.

Just thought you might appreciate a "head's up".

deber