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

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

New! Fantastic Off Season Rates!

My favorite trees, planted just down the street from the cottage.

Sweet, Crisp November! The leaves are almost done with their gorgeous Autumn dazzle, and there's been at least one good frost on the cabbage field already. It's too cold to swim. Well. The Polar Bear Club wouldn't think it was cold enough.



Late afternoon view as I crossed the bridge over the New River from our cottage on October 30th.

But its always beautiful in the mountains, and this is a fantastic time to visit. As a matter of fact, we coming up fast on Thanksgiving. Can't you smell the pumpkin pie already? Me, too.

Little cow,
little cow,
little cow won't you dance with me...

Just about every time I go up to see the cottage, I am tempted to take the long way home so I can indulge in a little bit of countryside photography. Usually I take the same scenes, just in different light, but sometimes I get lucky. The other day was one of those lucky days.

"Mooo." Maybe they were getting a kick out of taunting my worried little dogs... 

People usually think of cows as clumsy, awkward animals, but they are actually beautiful, graceful creatures. These dairy maidens not only crossed the whole pasture just to say hello, but when I drove away and turned around to get a photo of them from the side, they had already started heading towards me again, along the fence. The whole herd of them! For whatever reason, they seemed to find me attractive. Mayhaps the voloptuous milkers had it in their pretty little heads to do a bit of modeling and get their photo on the internet, hoping for fame like everybody else. (...unless they wanted to show those California cows what a North Carolina girl can do.)

There's still a good bit of color left in the area. This is right off the parkway.

I wanted to remind all our guest both past and future, that we have just reduced our seasonal rates. They are very reasonable. If you click on the Rates and  Payment Details page, you'll find our new fall/winter rates right there, plus all the other payment details.


Hope to see you soon!

Deborah

October!

I just wanted to show you some photos that I made when visiting the cottage the other day. Its gorgeous up there this year (as usual).



The trees around the cottage are just starting to change into soft Autumn yellows. There are a lot of Poplars in the woods behind the cottage.




This little mule is the prettiest I've ever seen. I had to stop and take her picture. She lives on Big Hill Road, near the cottage.




Maples are my favorite fall tree. Their black trunks and colorful leaves...gorgeous!




View of the River as you pass over the bridge just before River Road. I love this view. So peaceful.



Astors are blooming everywhere. Their soft lavender blooms contrast beautifully with the golds of the grassy fields this time of year.



Pumpkins! Need I say more?




Country Road, take me home...John Denver would have appreciated this little country road in the valley below the mountains.




I couln't resist showing off this pretty little mule again. (She's not a donkey, is she?)  Her name is Lucy. Not really. Well it might be, as she does look like a Lucy. Could also be Lulabelle...




Another beautiful Maple tree in her fall glory.




This waterfall is found right on the road called "Waterfall Road". It's on the way to my house from the cottage. I go that way on dry days when I don't mind being a little late. The road is partially unpaved, curvy and steep, so I don't go that way if the weather is wet, as it is quite slippery when wet.



Sweet Tantalizing September!

Just a sample of the October leaves in North Carolina...

All the world over, it's month number nine, September (which actually means seven. Right?) But numerical placement aside, "September" means different things in different places:

For instance, in Down Under Land, Austrailia, where they have lots of ancient rivers (see "An Ancient River Called the New", upper right) it has been winter all summer, so I suppose September means that spring is springing for at least some of those friendly folks below the equator. And let's see. In India where it's still Monsoon Season, it's September, too. In England where my daughter says it rains a lot, it's September, and in Russia where they have Siberia, its September, too. (I know little about Russia.) And in South America and Africa, who straddle the equator, it is also September, but with winter on one end and summer on the other.

Very interesting.

Yellow wild flowers growing along the river in the front yard of the cottage

It's even September in Central Florida, where I was born and raised. And though my friend Molly tells me that "it's sort of cool here, too," I know that's not exactly true...at least not by my standards. I'm not calling my girlfriend a liar, mind you, because Molly never lies. She doesn't. (She is honest as the day is long!) But her idea of cool is "under 90 degrees". Dear sweet Molly, that's...*writer shakes her head sympathetically, "tisk, tisk, tisk"*...that's not cool.

September is not the same everywhere as it is here in North Carolina, where cool, crisp breezes whisper fall to you with the scent of ripened apples on their breath and the crunch of colorful leaves under your feet...

(Sorry. I don't mean to make you feel bad. I'm sort of bragging.) But...

I love September in the Blue Ridge Mountains! Just the thought of it lifts my spirits and makes my heart beat faster. On those first cool fall mornings as the mist rises off dry summer grasses, you can smell fall on her way. As a matter of fact, my son (who lives in Boone) called this morning and said he can smell fall in the air. He said that its cool, and that some of the leaves are already starting to change. So its official.

Fields across the river from the cottage's front yard

That does it. My husband and I are going up this weekend. We're gonna smell the air. We're gonna pick up a couple of pretty red dogwood leaves off the ground below the trees. And we're going to eat dinner up there. Maybe we'll go to the Todd General Store for one of their famous hamburgers. We've never had one before, and I think a beautiful early fall day is the perfect day for a hamburger aficionado, such as myself, to have her first ever "world's best burger" (according to the mountain bikers, who know their hamburgers...) in a little General Store along the river in Todd.

One of the next door neighbor's
little pumpkins

Okay. So maybe you're one of those folks who is saying, "It's just September 3rd, so it is still officially summer right now." I hear you; you tell me that every year. And I do not care...'cos I tell you. In North Carolina when those first sweet, cool breezes wash their breath across my face and catch my hair in their gentle fingers, they whisper, "It's me again, your old friend, Autumn".

Welcome back, old friend.

NOTE: September 5

We did visit the cottage yesterday, and it was a crisp, clear autumn day. Gorgeous. The clear water was filled with happy canoers and rafters. Fields of wildflowers were blooming everywhere! You'll want to take a sweater.

It's a Rain Forest!

Perhaps I shouldn't tell you this, but the Blue Ridge Mountains are a rain forest. At least they are in the Boone, NC area. That accounts for the lush vegetation and healthy wildlife. It accounts for the abundant snow we had up there this last winter. It accounts for the wet Highlands days, reminiscent of the charming Highlands of Scotland, far across the sea. 

The bridge over the river at the corner of Castleford Road and River Road.

A rainy day in the mountains.

So this morning it is raining here at my home in Hickory. I just talked to my daughter in law, who has spent a few days there, and she says it's raining at the cottage. The river is running high and fast. I'm heading up there to help her spruce up the place for this afternoon's guests, and I can't wait to see how beautiful it looks now. I'll take pictures for you while I'm there.

Even with a little rain, the cottage is a heavenly place to be. The views of the river valley and mountains beyond are gorgeous, and the spacious covered porch has plenty of room to sit and sip coffee in the morning, or a glass of wine in the afternoon, while watching raindrops fall into the river.

Now that we have Direct TV, and a new television, when you tire of watching raindrops fall, you can come inside and watch TV, or even a movie.

Or maybe you've worked your poor little self so hard lately that you need to get a little rest. So you can mozy down the hall to your bedroom and lay down for a cozy little nap. When you wake up, the rain just might be done doing its thing, so it's back to a sunny day in the mountains.

But don't forget, you aren't very far from all kinds of dining, shopping and entertainment. The countryside on the way is beautiful, no matter what the weather.

I'm heading out now. I can't wait to see those mountains rising up out of the rainy mist. Magnificent!

Happy Guests, Happy Us!

There are no moose at the cottage other than these Welcome Meese...

They don't live in North Carolina so we can't spell them. Just kidding.

I got to the cottage to work on it just before the last guests left, and was greeted with huge smiles. "This is the best vacation cottage that people with kids and dogs could ever have. It was perfect! Everything we needed was here with the river and the yard, the grill, the kitchen and laundry; we hardly left the cottage. We will definitely come back again!"

They offered to be a reference for us, if any potential guests desire to speak in person to a satisfied former guest. What encouragement for us!


This part of the New River is just a few miles from it's beginnings, so the water is deep enough for canoeing and inner tubing, but usually slow running (except, like all bodies of water, sometimes after rain storms), and thus is a fabulous place for children to play. Of course, that is always with adult supervision, but I'm sure I don't need to tell you that.


I want to share some photos of the local folks, farms, flora and fauna taken as I have driven about in recent weeks on various back roads in the area:

A "landmark" for me when driving along Castleford Road on the way to the cottage from Boone and 194, this old building is surrounded by junked automobiles. Interesting landscaping, I must say. Fortunately, most North Carolinians don't chose to landscape our businesses with antique and vintage motorcars. I do plan to stop and photograph the junked vehicles some day when the light is just right. Makes for good art.

To the left of the above building is one road that stops at Castleford Road. Directly across the street from this building is another road. Castleford road is in the middle. Forge ahead!

Further down the road, this tiny mountain cabin is also on the right side Castleford Road on the way to the cottage from Boone. It is just past a "fork" in the road. Stay to the left. You will drive right in front of this tiny homestead, and will be able to see it peeking out behind a row of trees.

This little cottage is one of my mountain favorites, and I have photographed it at least a dozen times. I believe it is being well cared for by the decendants of the folks who used to live here.

I discovered this one-armed bear rooting around in the oak desk when I arrived at the cottage one day. The little girl next door helped me in surgery and we successfully replaced the missing arm with a stick of Rhododendron wood. He feels much better now, and we have given him a permanent place in the cottage. Now if we can just get the other arm to stay put...

Later that same day as I drove home on a back road, I passed by one deer grazing along the side of the road. He scampered off before I could snap his photo. Alas, I did spot this beauty standing still as a statue. She didn't mind my camera one bit. Serendipity!

Last but not least, this farm is just up the road from the cottage.

It was a beautiful, hot summer day in July, perfect for bailing hay along the riverside with your pretty little red tractor.

Until next time, my friend, keep cool, keep busy, and be happy. Come see us at the Cottage on the New!

Deber (Deborah Klein)