Chloe Tuttle

Chloe announced to me several days ago that I should take a bath and make myself pretty because we were going to a special event. I didn’t really think she meant it. I don’t get out much, and we cats can be “subject to violent anxiety at any uprooting.”  * Well, today we motored in a car into Williamston and gathered on… Read more

In the Florida Keys there is a pass through the mangroves called Toilet Seat Pass If you have ever spent any amount of time around the sea and in waterways, you will know that the locals have their own navigational aids. In North Carolina’s Outer Banks on the island of Ocracoke you will see empty… Read more

When you run a Bed and Breakfast, carving out time for your personal R&R can be a challenge.  But again this year I have made my escape!  I am in Islamorada on holiday with friends Joy and Patrick . We’re staying at the paradise home of our friends George and Louise, who have headed to Alberta in search of ducks… Read more

This summer has been tough on me with this fur coat and my advancing years. I haven’t done much except lounge about in the shade of the bushes and under the house. Chloe has tried to help by giving me numerous baths. I hate to admit it, but I am actually getting so that I… Read more

Growing up on the farm in North Carolina, we loved picking berries right off the bushes. We picked blueberries that we called huckleberries or blackberries that we called briar-berries. I only grew up in the summer – there are no fun stories about winter. My nephew Barney and I would get on our bicycles and… click to get Innkeeper Chloe Tuttle’s Southern Blueberry jam Recipe

Secret Watermelon Rind Recipe finally! The recipe is still stored in an old, red recipe box that I gave to my mother, Chloe, when I was a child. The paper is faded and creased; but it is just as I remember it. When I was in college I used to visit friends in Currituck County, near the… Click to get Miss Zulim’s Watermelon Rind Pickle Recipe

Summer in coastal North Carolina means great watermelons. If you want a great watermelon recipe, here it is.  When I was growing up on the farm my father had three rows of watermelons that were at least a city block long. That was a lot of watermelons. In July and August we would drive the… Click here to get the Watermelon Punch Recipe

  Rockfish or Catfish Stew Here’s a rustic recipe that captures the spirit of “use what you catch” large stew pot 1 qt water3 bunches green onions (chopped, reserve 1 cup)2 sweet onions (diced)4 small Thai hot, red peppers, or other small hot peppers (crushed)1 lb. bacon (fried and crumbled, reserved)1/2 lb. fat back (cut… Read more

To me, summers at Big Mill are about the night. The air is soft. Sitting in a wicker swing, for a few moments all is quiet. Then the sounds come. Bullfrogs show off with their throaty noises and then you can hear kaplop as they swim away. I am always amazed to see how big… Read more