In another life, I had sheep in my yard. Remember the sixties?
I didn’t have a lawn mower and I really did believe that the sheep would groom my yard. I needed the fleeces – I was working on my master’s degree in fibers – spinning and natural dyeing.
I lived on the south side of the Pamlico River and keeping my sheep in the yard was difficult. Neighbors said they didn’t mind Maggie Belle and Yorick, but my guinea hens had to stay home. I had bees too. [continue reading…]
Christmas lights in Windsor – you can see the glow from half a mile away!
People come from everywhere to the small eastern North Carolina town of Windsor just to see these lights. Folks turn off their headlights and drive slowly through the lighted arches, past elves and Santas, angels and reindeer, cut-out critters and blow-up scenes – and lots of lights, up in the trees, on the scenes. It is almost too much to see at one time.
½cupcookedunsweetened pumpkin (canned works great)
¾cupsself-rising flour ***
¼teaspoonground cloves
¼teaspoonground cinnamon
¼teaspoonsalt
1/3cupchopped walnuts
½cupcoconutsweetener & shredded , reserve 1 Tablespoon. (Use a brand name coconut)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 mini loaf pans.
Whisk eggs in medium-sized bowl. Add oil and pumpkin. In another bowl mix flour, cloves, cinnamon and salt.
Add dry mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir. Fold in walnuts and coconut.
Pour into loaf pans, filling about ¾ full. Sprinkle with the reserved coconut.
Bake for about 35-45 minutes or until loaves are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cooking times vary, so keep checking to see to see if it is done.
When we all ate from the land and did not import exotic foods, we ate what was fresh. So in the fall of the year and for Thanksgiving and Christmas we had lots of pumpkin dishes. My folks let me grow pumpkins in the corn patch.
Politics resurrect memories.
There was another election: Richard Nixon in the 60s.
Pat Nixon, Ginny Tuttle (Chloe’s Mother-in-Law) & Richard Nixon in Atlanta during the Eisenhower campaign of the 50’s
Back then, I had decided that if Nixon was re-elected, I was moving to Africa. Remember, this was the sixties. I can’t remember where in Africa — either Ivory Coast or Liberia. Made sense to me at the time.
T.S. Applegate, physics professor, built a 96′ steel four-masted barkentine in a corn field in Lynchburg, Virginia. He then hauled it by truck to Belhaven, North Carolina and tied it to a dock. [continue reading…]
For couples who want romantic seclusion for theirwedding or vow renewal, the private, rustic setting ofBig Mill Bed & Breakfast is perfect. No crowds. Just you, your mate and a few friends – if you want them.
No fuss, no stress – our team does it all for you with your guidance. Our photographer, Guy, takes the bride and groom around the farm, the lakes, the barns to get that perfect shot. He might even use the old red truck.
Brides love my Old Red Truck
If you want a different setting, we will travel – if you want to renew your vows on your boat, we will go. At your house or at the beach – our wedding officiant, Barney Conway, and photographer, Guy Livesay will join you there. Need a cake? We do that too.
We host weddings with 8-10 folks…but call us, we might accept a dozen.
I love our new hand-drawn B&B farm map – made just for Big Mill
I love the outbuildings here on the farm – they are almost 100 years old. We have the Smoke House where my folks cured sausage and hams and stored the lard and fatback to feed five families; the Wash House where my mother heated the water with wood to wash the clothes; the Pack House where the mules lived; the Sweet Potato House where they cured the sweet potatoes; the Chicken Coop where we had chickens – my job was to gather the eggs. [continue reading…]
High Cotton in the antebellum South meant that the cotton was high,
prices were good and all was well on the plantation.
Yep, we’re in High Cotton on the farm here at Big Mill Bed and Breakfastthis year. Right outside my kitchen window the cotton is as high as I can remember. My brother John does say that isn’t necessarily a grand thing, but I like it. And this is the best looking cotton in the county. [continue reading…]
Fox News-Detroit does a segment called “throw the dart.” Wherever the dart lands – that town gets a call. Well, it landed on Williamston, NC, and they called the Martin County Travel & Tourism Authority.
There was a fun video of small town meets big city.
My nephew Barney Conway took the call. And, of course, he did a stellar job. It’s like they called Andy of Mayberry and got Charles Kuralt. Our whole town is a-buzz! We are still talking about it. Update: Barney is now the Tourism Director!
Let me know what you think. Doesn’t it make you want to head to North Carolina? And, of course, Big Mill B&B got an honorable mention.
Late summer evenings in Big Mill B&B’s garden are filled with sweet scents
4 O’Clocks really do bloom at 4 in the afternoon.
The show begins in the afternoon at 5 o’clock, when the Four O’clocks start blooming. They are an old flower that my mother and grandmother raised and shared with their friends. It is a wonderful plant and each flower can have several colors. They are not edible, but they have been used in food coloring.
Just before dark the moon flowers open and smell as sweet as honeysuckle.
Moon Flowers bloom at night.
And as it is turning dark, the Devil’s Trumpet slowly opens with its fragrant perfume. Georgia O’Keefe painted this beauty – it is also called Jimson Weed. Now I want an Angel’s trumpet. I hear it is sweet smelling.
Lingering from night into day, the ginger lilies perfume the air.
Ginger Lilies perfume the air.
So at five, six and seven in the evening, there is a sweet-smelling show every night in late summer and early fall in the Big Mill garden. Do you have any “blooming perfumes” in your garden this year? Share in the comments below.
I first tasted Gazpacho in the sixties when I was a young student in Spain.
Gazpacho is perfect for hot summer days.
It was in a little cafe in Toledo and I still remember the cafe, the handsome young man and the Gazpacho.
It seems there are as many Gazpacho recipes as there are barbecue recipes. I finally found one that reminds me of that night in Toledo. I have adapted my recipe from one in Craig Claiborne’s New York Times International Cookbook – my favorite cookbook. Did you know that Craig Claiborne – food editor for the New York Times – was born in Sunflower, Mississippi?
The basket in the photo (above) is very special – it was a gift from Miss Sadie, owner of the original Big Mill grist mill. Years ago she used it to take three dozen eggs up town every week to trade for coffee and sugar and things she couldn’t grow. It still has the cotton seeds in it, They were used to keep the eggs from breaking.
I grew these tomatoes in my Big Mill Cook’s garden. The garden is in my orchard where our livestock used to graze under the apple trees.
Hi, I am Chloe and I live on my family farm that is now Big Mill Bed & Breakfast. I post about things that happen on the farm, fun things to do in eastern NC and my crafts & recipes.
