You can smell the vinegar & red pepper before you enter
the door of the Skylight Inn in Ayden, North Carolina

Photo by Chloe Tuttle*

Since 1947, Pete Jones and family have been serving this tasty eastern North Carolina style barbecue (always pork) to locals and folks who are willing to travel long distances. They cook whole hogs, over oak. To BBQ enthusiasts, this is essential.

Photo by Chloe Tuttle*

Tap, tap, tap . . . that is the sound of the Skylight Inn. You can see the meat as it is being chopped, right there in front of you . . . tap, tap, tap.

As I stood there trying to see what was on the menu, a local fellow leaned in and said to me, “If you want something other than Barbecue, you have to come on Thursdays . . . they have chicken on Thursday.”

Photo by Chloe Tuttle*

The menu let me know that today I could get a small barbecue or a large barbecue. That was fine with me. I had driven to Ayden to eat barbecue. Lots of folks come to Ayden for the barbecue – George W. Bush, Daisy Duke, Ronald Reagan. According to the N.C Barbecue Society, the North Carolina Barbecue Trail starts in Ayden at the Skylight Inn.

In 2003, they received the James Beard award, have had stories written about them in the NY Times and the Roadfood series by Jan & Michael Stern.

Saveur Magazine calls it “North Carolina’s finest pulled pork.” And Southern Living lists the Skylight Inn as one of the “South’s 20 Best BBQ Joints.”

Yum, that is the taste of the Skylight Inn Barbecue – ’tis great roadfood. And, that same cute fellow who leaned in to tell me the menu, bought me lunch.

P.S. We don’t care if Rick Perry doesn’t like eastern North Carolina barbecue. Bet he is sorry he made that barbecue remark!

*You are welcome to use these Skylight Inn photos, just let me know and give me, Chloe’s Blog and Big Mill Bed & Breakfast credit. Thanks!

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In summer, folks flock to farmer’s markets to get all those fresh fruits and vegetables. In small towns we grow our own and go to roadside stands.

And in very small towns, we count on the farmer who sits by the road in the back of his pickup truck loaded with things from his large garden – and if we are very lucky, there are watermelons from Rocky Hock.

Folks around here want watermelons from Rocky Hock, NC, an area near the Albemarle Sound, where we say the watermelons and cantaloupes just taste better. By the way, the Albemarle Sound area also produced author Inglis Fletcher.

So — if you see a man sitting in the parking lot of the ABC store or even the Piggly Wiggly parking lot – stop and buy something from him. They move around, and I have to go from parking lot to parking lot to find them. But it is worth it !

For Big Mill B&B, I buy three watermelons every time I see a watermelon truck. We serve our guests watermelon, we eat watermelon and we make watermelon punch. What are some of your favorite things to do with watermelon?

Bon appetite!

 

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Vollis Simpson, called the
Junkyard Poet of Whirligigs and Windmills
by the New York Times

Vollis Simpson is a craftsman of brightly painted metal art –
giant creations he calls windmills and we call whirligigs.

Driving through eastern North Carolina looking for Lucama and Vollis Simpson's Whirligig Farm, you begin to wonder if you are lost. And then around the corner, there they are – colorful, folksy whirligigs erected atop tall poles, all spinning and creaking and shining in the sun. With reflector tape on the spinning blades, they shine in the moonlight too.

I met Mr. Simpson last summer. He was working in his shop – I was kinda hanging around and he invited me in. His workshop is stuffed … really stuffed with his metal creations, all made from objects he has collected. I saw a slight grin when he told me about the 85- foot whirligig he made for the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore; I think he used a toaster in that one.

Just this week we had fun mom and daughter guests Anna and Kate, who drove all the way from Philadelphia to see Vollis Simpson's art work and to stay at Big Mill B&B.  Kate wants one of his creations and I bet she gets one.

This is American Folk Art, sometimes called Outsider Art. Whatever the name, it is worth a trip to the small eastern North Carolina community of Lucama.  But go now, you might be able to sit and talk to Vollis Simpson, still working at 92.

And buy something. I did and my wonderful helicopter whirligig loves living on the farm at Big Mill Bed & Breakfast.

Try to go on a windy day or a windy night with a full moon.

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For great pork barbecue in eastern North Carolina,
Bunn's Barbecue in Windsor has to be on your short list.

Driving up, you might wonder if this really is a restaurant.  There's a Texaco pump out front – that's because before 1938, Bunn's was a service station. Inside, old signs hang on the walls, but the minute you enter, that wonderful aroma of vinegar, pork and red pepper greets you. You are in the right place.

A few years back, several of my friends sashayed up to the food bar and asked for a menu; they were told, "Don't have one."  When asked what they served the waitress — very matter-of-fact – responded, "Barbecue on a bun, barbecue on a plate."

A menu is on the wall and they certainly have added some good eastern North Carolina  foods. You can get hot dogs, Brunswick stew and barbecue any day, and sweet tea, of course.  On Tuesdays, they serve barbecue chicken; on Thursday, the house special is chicken and pastry.

My favorite food at Bunn's – the Cornbread Sandwich. That's a barbecue and slaw sandwich served between two pieces of corn bread.

Open since 1938, this Windsor, North Carolina landmark is a place you just don't want to miss. The Russell family has owned Bunn's since 1969. High water has flooded Bunn's seven times since 1999, twice with six feet of water.

Jan and Michael Stern, who wrote Road Food for Gourmet magazine and are now on NPR's Splendid Table, with a Road Food column added it to their list of great Mom and Pop restaurants in the USA. I agree.

I am on a mission to photograph every Mom and Pop "Road Food" restaurant in eastern North Carolina. Do you have any suggestions?

(all photos by Chloe Tuttle of Big Mill Bed & Breakfast)

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Photo by Stacey Haines of Stacey Haines Photography

If you venture to Southern Pines, NC on Thanksgiving Day, and stand with horses and hounds on Hobby Field, you will hear the Episcopal priest begin his blessing:

"Bless, O Lord, we beseech You, rider and horse and hound. Shield the rider from danger to life and limb, and may the chase bring to him vigor of body and clearness of mind.

May the horse that carries him come unharmed to the close of the hunting day, and be regarded as man's helper in his work and in his play…." This blessing extends to the hounds, the horses, the riders and even the fox.

Photos by Stacey Haines of Stacey Haines Photography

A fox-scented rag is dragged over the path, a sharp blast from a horn is sounded and the hounds are off – riders in pursuit. The hunt is on.

North Carolina is rich in the tradition of the hunt – with or without the fox.

These captivating photographs were taken by Stacey Haines of Stacey Haines Photography. Well, Stacey came to Big Mill Bed & Breakfast and took many of the photos on our website. And she has been busy. She has taken the cover photos for Our State Magazine three times in 2010, or maybe more!

Photo by Stacey Haines.

Way to go, Stacey!  And thanks for sharing with Chloe's Blog and Snapshots of Eastern North Carolina.

If you plan to attend this year's Blessing of the Hounds:
 
When:  Thanksgiving Day, 10 a.m.  (November 25, 2010)
Where:  Hobby Field, 3116 Youngs Road, Southern Pines, NC 28387
Details:  Recorded message – (910) 692-6889

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It’s berry picking time in Eastern North Carolina

…and all the Big Mill Bed & Breakfast guests can be certain they will feast on "just picked" strawberries in the months of April, May and June. We have two U-Pick Strawberry fields here in Martin County and our local produce is the best. Folks say berries from different fields have different flavors, and I believe them.

At the Berry Patch in Robersonville you can buy local grown cabbages, onions, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes, peas, potatoes and corn.  And you can get just-made strawberry jam.

Shirley is going on her eleventh year at the Berry Patch…I only see her in the strawberry season, but that can be at least several times a week. The berries are so luscious, I can’t resist picking more than I need. Vivian, Shirley and Carleen are also familiar faces at the Berry Patch.

At the fields you pick (and eat) berries, weigh them and off you go with quarts of ripe red fruit. Then you must decide what to do with all these pounds of berries that you picked. 

I make strawberry jam for our Big Mill B&B guests. Don’t think I’m bragging (much!), but this is an award-winning strawberry jam recipe!  It won best-of-show at our Farm Heritage Fair.  It is wonderful.

When I was growing up, we would pick the berries, make jam and – on the very same night — we ate homemade biscuits with jam and homemade butter.

Growing your own and buying local is a growing trend — and a good one. All around us there are many farmer’s markets, vegetable stands and local folks selling their produce. We even have vendors who sell collards out of a pick up truck. We need to support them all. You can find a list of farmers in your area at Local Harvest and at North Carolina Farm Fresh. 

I will be posting some guest articles on The Bountiful Kitchen – Inn Cuisine.  The article with my recipe for Chloe’s Strawberry Jam is just the first in a series of eating local, sustainable foods.  

Plan to Visit: The Berry Patch in Robersonville, NC 252-795-4903 and Berry Tyme Farm in Jamesville, NC 252-792-6916. This year, there is a new J & J Farm Produce in Martin County near Jamesville 252-799-8110. They are not a You-Pick farm, but they do sell strawberries, cabbage, potatoes, May peas, corn and asparagus.              

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Every year for over thirty years in the small Eastern North Carolina community of Farm Life, not very far from Big Mill Bed and Breakfast, the folks of Piney Grove Baptist Church present an outdoor drama of the final days of the life of Jesus Christ.

The Message of Easter began as a vision of E.T. Taylor, a childhood friend of mine. It has grown and some nights thousands of folks attend, coming from all over.  

E.T. was no novice to outdoor drama, having played Governor Eden in Blackbeard, Knight of the Black Flag, in historic Bath, N.C, a few moons ago in the seventies.

E.T. Taylor and Chloe

We sailed 10 miles on the Pamlico River to see E.T. in this performance; the return sail was under a gorgeous full moon.

In its first few years The Message of Easter was performed on the lawn. Now visitors enjoy the performances in a large outdoor theater that seats 3,000 folks with special lighting, surround sound and ample parking. And all this is offered at no charge.

Church members do it all: acting, set design, lighting, costumes, parking and everything in between. Some folks have never missed a performance.

Thirty years ago E.T. chose Jimmy Griffin to play Jesus, and Jimmy is still fulfilling that promise. Leslie Hardison is the only man to ever play Peter. 

Billy Peel is a barber by trade; but every year for thirty years in the weeks before Easter he is Pontius Pilot. Billy was my first boyfriend: I was two, he was three. His wife Betty Jo is tired of hearing us talk about it; I don’t blame her. And for thirty years she has been Pilot’s wife.

Williamston is a small town, not unlike Mayberry, and I call many of the folks at Piney Grove, “Cousin.”  Imagine for a moment that the good folks of Mayberry presented an outdoor drama. You can be sure they would be sincere, the drama would be first class and the community would be involved. That’s what happens in Farm Life in the weeks leading up to Easter. Everyone works together and works hard and everyone is welcome.

This year’s 2012 drama is the 33nd season for the Message of Easter. Performances will in Spanish on March 30. Performances in English are on March 31, and April 4-8, at 8 p.m. For information about the Message of Easter call 252-792-1342. Remember early spring can be chilly. If our Big Mill B&B guests attend the Easter drama, we send them off with cushions and blankets.

If you’ve ever attended an Easter season outdoor drama, do leave a comment below.  I’d love to hear your stories.

Dedicated to the memory of E.T. Taylor, a friend to many.

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Lake Mattamuskeet and the Pocosin Lakes of eastern North Carolina come alive every winter as thousands of tundra swans and snow geese make the journey from the Alaska tundra to our Inner Banks. Both refuges are an easy day trip from Big Mill Bed and Breakfast.

(Photo of Tundra Swans by Guy Livesay of Livesay Photography)

As many as 20,000 Tundra swans and 80,000 snow geese overwinter in these refuges. These magnificent swans and gregarious snow geese feed in the fields during the day and return to the lakes, rivers and sounds for the evening.

(Photo of tundra swan by Guy Livesay of Livesay Photography)

There are over 50,000 acres in the Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Preserve in Hyde County and over 110,000 acres in the Pocosin Lakes Wildlife Preserve in Hyde, Tyrell and Washington counties.

Pocosin is an Algonquin word meaning swamp on a hill. A type of shrub bog, the Pocosin habitat is unique to the southeastern US from Virginia to Florida, but most common in eastern North Carolina. I can still remember my mother talking about some wild-haired person as "looking like a Pocosin bull," usually in reference to an unkempt relative.  

(Wilson snipe photo taken by Big Mill guests Jane and Craig)

Pocosin Lakes is also home to raptors, black bears and the endangered red wolves and the Red-cockaded woodpecker; and neo-tropical songbirds can be seen here in summer and on their spring and fall migrations.

Fires burn often in these peat bogs and in June, 2008, lightening started a wildfire that burned 40,000 acres in ten days; smoke drifted as far west as Raleigh. This fire continued to burn for most of the summer of 2008, burning thousands more acres of peat bog. Birds and wildlife were displaced but they are very adaptable. Scientists think that the fire may actually be a benefit to the preserve habitat.

(Lake Mattamuskeet at sunset by Guy Livesay of Guy Livesay Photography)

Fires are not the only threat to these fragile lands. The Federal Government planned to acquire 30,000 acres for military purposes to build an Outlying Landing Field near the Pocosin Lakes Refuge where jets would battle the swans. A hue and a cry went up from residents of these small family farms, who were joined by other folks who cared. Nearly every yard in these inland coastal counties had its NO OLF sign.

After a long, tedious and bitter battle the Navy announced on January, 2008, that it was abandoning the project. I could hardly believe it, that residents, man and beast, reptile and fowl of the Pocossin won. Still to this day I cry every time I think about this victory. You can still see NO OLF signs in yards-some folks don’t want us to forget this hard-won fight. 

Thanks to my birding friends I have met here at Big Mill B&B for all the birding tips and the great photos. Some of these folks belong to the Carolina Bird Club and their January, 2009, meeting was held in Williamston. Club members made numerous field trips and recorded 126 species of birds.

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast has recently been designated a Birder Friendly Business by the North Carolina Birding Trail. 

Bird watchers are a great bunch of folks and they are trying so very hard to teach me to recognize all the birds that come to Big Mill for Bird and Breakfast. And if I name a bird incorrectly I expect my birding friends to let me know.                                                     

While you are in eastern North Carolina be sure to check out Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park in Scotland Neck.

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