In the spring, we see lots of migratory birds in western North Carolina — some hang around for the spring and summer, while others are just passing through on their way to another destination. One of those “just passing through” birds is our May 2016 pick in our 12 Months of Birding at the Inn blog series: the Swainson’s Thrush.
The greenway closest to the Inn on Mill Creek, Point Lookout Trail, is getting some much-needed repairs soon! This means that the trail will be closed during the summer of 2016, but the work being done will provide long-term benefits, which is great news because this is a favorite trail for our guests.
Craggy Gardens is a section of the North Carolina mountains accessible via the Blue Ridge Parkway, north of Asheville. It has excellent hiking trails, a picnic area, cool mountaintop balds with wild blueberry bushes and dramatic mountain vistas. Read on to see what we saw on our hike of the Craggy Gardens Trail in early May! Hint: Wildflowers galore and other cool stuff that makes us love love love nature.
We have a small herb garden here at the Inn on Mill Creek B&B, at the southern end of the Pool Garden, named for its former life as a swimming pool before it became a garden many years ago.
The 2016 farmer’s market season is almost here, and that means the Black Mountain Tailgate Market is coming soon! The market features locally-grown food including produce, meat, eggs and honey, as well as arts and crafts. It’s an awesome community gathering.
Our April 2016 bird in the 12 Months of Birding at the Inn blog series, the Yellow-rumped Warbler, is a bird best seen during spring and fall migrations, although some have been noticed while wintering here in Pisgah National Forest around Asheville, NC.
We were very fortunate to see the Norfolk & Western 611 steam locomotive pulling 21 cars as it passed by the Inn on Mill Creek B&B (twice) on April 10, 2016, taking passengers on a special one-day excursion from Spencer, NC, to Asheville and back again.
A lot of people might think that pumpkin is an autumn-only ingredient. Well, let us confess, we use pumpkin all year ’round. Don’t judge. And Innkeeper Dave’s pumpkin bread remains our top-requested recipe. So we have it here just for you. Enjoy!
Looking to get outdoors during your springtime visit to the Asheville area? A waterfall hike can be a great experience for many reasons: a chance to see spring wildflowers and other vibrant spring green everywhere, fewer crowds on the trails than in the summer and fall, and also the snow melt from higher elevations and the occasional spring rain shower make for more water…falling. One waterfall we like happens to be the closest one to the Inn on Mill Creek: Catawba Falls.
As we transition from winter to spring, one bird that may be spotted on its migration back north to cooler climes is the White-throated Sparrow, a winter resident of the Asheville area and our March 2016 selection in our 12 Months of Birding at the Inn blog series.
