Moon Over the New

I just wanted to post a few new pictures from this weekend's visit to the Cottage on the New. I think you'll enjoy them. I thought you'd like to see the river in front of the cottage as it appeared when Bill and I left last night.

The moon was huge and full. And the color of blushing cream roses. It was all I could see for the rest of the evening, and like a stray puppy, it followed us all the way home.

It turns out that a lunar eclipse was due to occur during the sleeping hours, and what ever was happening was already affecting the way the moon appeared.

As for the cottage, this is what I saw as we stood on the porch preparing to leave.  I owe a big kiss to the planter of those five tall trees.

Now here's something I think you'll find interesting that was going on in the field across the river from the cottage last week. Across River Road from the bridge is a little road called something like Mill Road. There's an old sugar cane mill behind the hill there. The man that owns it makes molasses from the cane he grows in the field you see below. The old mill used to be horse drawn, but now he uses a tractor, geared down "real low". The molasses is then sold at the general store down the road a piece (as they say here in North Carolina), in Todd.

The horse is a Shire, I was told by an old man who rides his bike by the cottage every day. The people hoeing are actually thinning the sugar cane. Last year, according to the old man, was a bad year for sugar cane. Too cool. But they still managed to cook up 500 gallons of molasses with that crop.

Here is a photo of the cottage's master bedroom, finished at last. A comfy and relaxing place to sleep.

That's all I have time for tonight. Sleep tight!

A Great Weekend

Tubes, canoes, kayaks, swimming and rafts!

River view of the Cottage

Bill and I spent the weekend at the cottage again, moving the last few things in and making it more comfortable than ever. Thank goodness for our daughter, Sydney, who was able to come and help Bill carry in the stuff. When Bill and Sydney were done with the work, she called and invited her roommate and another friend for dinner. They brought swim suits and some inner tubes, and drifted down the river for a little while we ran to the store for a little extra food. It was a great day.

The living room, with the carpet to make it more comfortable

Today we worked on painting a few pieces of furniture, hanging some shelves and pictures, and tidying up the place. I'm so excited to see how beautifully it is all coming together.  My favorite things are the new towel racks which Bill made from Rhododendron branches gathered off the mountainside behind the house. They are perfect. I will get a photo of them later in the week.

Three of the four deer we observed last night at dusk

During dinner last night, one of Sydney's friends noticed four deer grazing in the neighbor's pasture across the road from us. The wandered about peacefully for 30 minutes or so, before disappearing into the tree farm

that bordered the edge of the field. 

The early morning view from the front porch

All day long, as is the usual this time of year, canoers and tubers were bobbing down the river. The neighbors and their guests swam down by the bridge.

It was a gorgeous, fun weekend. 

An Lazy Sunday Afternoon at the Cottage

The entrance of the cottage is on the side.

Stepping stones lead you to the steps.

The cottage from the front, with the big covered front porch

After a pleasant but busy Saturday puttering about our house in Hickory, Bill and I decided to spend Sunday at the little house on the New River. Our daughter Jossie came over with her boyfriend, Ben, and her sister Sydney joined us for lunch before she had to go to work in Boone. Bill loves to cook out, so he and Ben bonded over the grill a couple of beers while the girls and I talked.

Bill whips up a salad in the kitchen.

This time we took our two small dogs, Layla and Bo. They love to go to the river with us, and started getting crazy with excitement as soon as we crossed the first bridge where we turn onto River Road.

Ah, freedom. There is plenty of front yard along the river,and the road is on the other side of the bridge from the house. Bo quickly learned that if he stays away from the bridge, he'll get to play outside all day long.

Since the river winds gently through the valley, we observed a steady stream (no pun intended) of river lovers peacefully bobbing and paddling past us throughout the day. They traveled down the river in canoes, rafts and floats. Because the road has so little traffic, a family of bikers and a couple of

horse riders were among the afternoon travelers.

One view from the front porch, with the road leading to the bridge.

Canoers and a kayaker were early pleasure seekers this morning. There are several canoe rental companies in the area. The motto for passing under our new, sturdy low-water bridge is: 

"No troll. No toll. Just a little duck."

River Tubers...what a relaxing way to enjoy the beautiful old New...

As always, I saved the best for last. These happy drifters were my favorite bunch, bobbing down the river today with their little cooler bringing up the rear.

Jossie and Ben return from a survey of the bridge and the river. The neighbor's friendly Australian Cattle Dog is coming for a nice scratch between her ears.

The day started out perfect, turning to light sprinkles of rain toward the evening. But that didn't bother anyone, as the porch facing the river is so large that we could all sit there and talk while the dogs continued to play along the river in the sprinkling rain.

The living room fireplace

When it came time to go, the weather had cleared again and Sydney had headed to Boone for work. We donated all the leftover food to Jossie and Ben, whistled for the pups, and packed up for home. 

Our little cabin is now available for weekly, weekend, or nightly rental.  You can call our son Jacob on his cell phone to arange for the details (See the side bar).

For more cabin details, check our list of pages.

The cottage has two bedrooms and two baths. The smaller bedroom has one full sized bed. The larger bedroom has a queen sized bed and private bath. It can accommodate 4 people, but if someone is willing to sleep on the big fat sofa in the living room, it can handle a fifth person.

We'd love to have you stay!