2013 Painters Herb Festival is April 13-14

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Inn on Mill Creek

Time to get your thyme! The 9th annual Painters Greenhouse Herb Festival is the weekend of April 13-14, 2013, at Painters Greenhouse in Old Fort, NC. Painters is one of our favorite places to buy plants and the herb festival features not only a variety of herbs on sale, but also local crafts, great food, live music and other activities. So while you’re walking among all the sage and rosemary, you can also check out the work of more than 25 local artisans and listen to fabulous music, featuring Lee Entrekin and Friends opening on Saturday followed by Mean Mary, then jazz and blues artist Linda Mitchell on Sunday morning followed by Jay Brown One-Man-Band performing American roots originals and classics.

Welcome Back, Swallowtails

Posted on April 7, 2013 by Inn on Mill Creek

April marks the return of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Reason #348 that we love Spring…the return of the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail to the Inn on Mill Creek, our Bed & Breakfast near Black Mountain and Asheville, NC. Lovers of nectar producing plants, these beautiful butterflies flock to our phlox as soon as the phlox start flowering. The creeping phlox, low to the ground (hence its name), blooms in early April and then the tall garden phlox bloom in the summertime, keeping the Eastern Tiger Swallowtails very happy. And they make us happy. Happiness all around.

Enjoy “Biltmore Blooms” with Discounted Tickets

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Inn on Mill Creek

Azaleas at Biltmore bloom in late April / early May

Azaleas. Do you like them? If so, then you should check out the thousands of amazing azaleas at Biltmore Estate in nearby Asheville, NC, during late April / early May. They have an entire garden — at 15 acres, it’s more like a park — dedicated to this lovely spring-blooming shrub.

Ten Hikes for Spring in the North Carolina Mountains (updated)

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Inn on Mill Creek

The (very green) Black Mountains of North Carolina in springtime

We’ve updated our list of ten hikes around our neck of the woods that are great for enjoying springtime. Western North Carolina has elevations between 1,000 and 6,690 feet, so keep in mind that late March and early/mid-April may still be on the wintry side in the mountains at the higher elevations, while the flowers and flowering trees are blooming at middle elevations such as ours at 2,300 feet. By the end of April and first part of May, spring takes hold everywhere.

Welcome Spring!

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Inn on Mill Creek

Say hello to our daffodils

Spring is here! It’s our favorite season, so you can imagine how happy we are, even though there may be a little bit of winter here and there over the next few weeks. Our forsythia and daffodils don’t care and therefore, we shouldn’t care, right? So take a moment to welcome Spring and enjoy these photos taken at the Inn on March 20:

North Carolina Mountain Birds: White-breasted Nuthatch

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Inn on Mill Creek

White-breasted Nuthatch at the Inn

When you watch the suet and seed birdfeeders at the Inn on Mill Creek, you may notice a smallish bird with a big head, a short tail, and a white chest, with striking black and gray markings and black going over the top of its head, quickly scooting up and down and all around a tree trunk at weird angles. If he looks like the guy in the photo above, then you’ve seen the White-breasted Nuthatch, our March bird in the 12 Months of Birding series that we’re doing on the blog.

Asheville Area Chocolate Shops

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Inn on Mill Creek

Can we talk chocolate for a moment, because not only is Asheville known as Foodtopia, but it’s also Chocolatopia as far as we’re concerned. Early this month, we perused three chocolatier shops in Asheville: French Broad Chocolate Lounge, Chocolate Gems and Chocolate Fetish. Nom nom nom.

Kiva Loan #44

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Inn on Mill Creek

As you may know, we are actively involved with Kiva, a microloan nonprofit that is fighting global poverty by assisting connecting lenders with borrowers who own small businesses in poor areas. Our 44th Kiva microloan to a small business owner in a developing nation takes us to Indonesia, where Beatrix manages a vegetable stand at a local food market. Beatrix is a married working mom with five kids and her income helps support her children’s high school and college expenses. With her loan, which was funded by us and 20 other Kiva lenders from around the world, she will be buying corn and rice in bulk to add to improve her business.

The Day We Were Reminded that Spring Isn’t Here Yet

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Inn on Mill Creek

While we (OK, Brigette mostly) have been walking around inspecting every inch of the garden for signs of Spring to break through and looking at all the trees for signs of Spring to bud, and looking at all the birds to see if any Spring ones have arrived, we were reminded today that no, Spring isn’t quite here yet!

North Carolina Mountain Birds: Northern Cardinal

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Inn on Mill Creek

Cardinal at the Inn, Winter 2011

We can always count on the Northern Cardinal to add some pep to a winter day, with cheerful chirping and colorful plumage, so we’re giving this spunky bird the February spot in our 12 Months of Birding at the Inn series.

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