February can be rather unpredictable in the mountains of Western North Carolina. So even though songbirds will be belting out their tunes and daffodils will be showering us with blooms in just four short weeks, we know to take full advantage of a pretty, “Spring-ish” day that comes along in the middle of February.
It’s time for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count! The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is the opportunity for bird enthusiasts of all ages — from casual bird watchers to serious birders — to participate in a massive counting of birds over a four-day period in the U.S. and Canada. Scientists then use the data from to study bird populations, what kinds of birds live in different areas, the environmental effects on bird migration patterns and how a species’ range shrinks or expands over a period of time.
What a memorable winter this has been! Are you having a case of the winter blahs? We’ve got something to cheer you up. We were excited this past weekend to see a little hint of Spring popping up out of the Pool Garden and had to share it with you. Here come the crocuses!
Are our guests enjoying the Quiet Season in the Asheville/Black Mountain area? We’re seeing a lot of smiles at breakfast, so we’re going to guess the answer is a big yes. One of the comments we hear the most during the wintertime is that the lack of crowds, zero traffic, and the ease of getting into restaurants and local attractions is a big plus to visiting the mountains of Western North Carolina this time of year.
As we celebrate the first day of Winter, we (meaning Brigette) also celebrate the fact that the first of our garden catalogs have arrived. Gold stars go to Bluestone Perennials in Ohio, and Witherspoon Roses in Durham, NC, for being early birds in the garden catalog distribution department! What better way to get through winter than to flip through a garden catalog, with it’s colorful plants and flowers splashed on every page?
For the past four years, we’ve been participating in microloans to small business owners in developing countries through Kiva (http://www.kiva.org/).
