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.

Moses & Chloe with the Rev. Jim Horton at Blessing of the Animals

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 the lawn of the Episcopal Church of the Advent. Now that I am a published author I have obligations.

Chloe told me that she went to the Blessing of the Animals at Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City and they had giraffes, elephants, chickens, snakes and most of the animals that Moses had in his ark. I have never seen an elephant and was looking forward to seing one. I haven’t even seen a chicken. I am a wee bit disappointed that I could not see an elephant.

Anyway, there were some very poorly behaved critters at our blessing. I am dignified.  I am a cat of integrity.  I know how to act.  I did not say a word, I did not bite anybody, I did not growl. My new friend Izzy bit Susan.

Here I am with the Reverend Jim Horton and Chloe. We attended what appeared to be a Fur Ball Festival on the Feast of St. Francis, patron saint of animals, birds and the environment. I rather liked his prayer; we could all learn from St. Francis.

I have now been blessed and I have to admit I feel like a new Fur Person. I wonder if I have to do this eight more times?

P.S. I just received a letter from one of my admirers telling me that it was Noah on the ark, not Moses. Forsooth, I could have sworn it was my namesake.

The Fur Person by May Sarton

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-878

*7

In the Florida Keys there is a pass through the mangroves called Toilet Seat Pass

Toilet Seat Cut at sunset

Islamorada Sunset in the Florida Keys

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 Clorox bottles bobbing in the water. You have to ask a local in order to know if the bottle marks where you should go or where not to go.

The Seagulls love the Toilets in Toilet Seat Pass

All over the Florida Keys and in the Caribbean sticks and now some PVC pipes are swaying in bodies of water, sometimes the only guide you might have.

Well, in the Upper Florida Keys there is a cut from the bay near Tavernier Creek to Cowpens that is called Toilet Seats. It is marked with some bright-painted toilet seats and some derelict toilet seats, but all of them are clever.

Folks come up with some witty names for the toilets

My Friend Joy (from my earlier boating days in the Bahamas) and I have put several toilet seats in this cut, but they have not fared too well with the blows and hurricanes that whip through the Keys.

Our toilet seat was painted with “Chloe and Joy, Eau de Toilette”, weren’t we clever?

Chloe and Joy Toilet Seats – two perfumes

I remember other catchy quips painted on the seats: Ed’s Crapper, Royal Flush, Pottying in the Keys, Baron’s Throne, Louise and Tammy’s Turtle, Doug and Vickie’s Hook, Line and Stinker and others that the sea has claimed.

Pottying in the Keys in Florida Keys Toilet Seat Pass

I have to give credit to the great skipper Patrick who stopped, backed up, moved left or right for me to get just the right shot.  Thank you, Chico.

This really is folk art, and I love it! Art and the sea is therapy for this NC innkeeper.

Years ago, natives corralled the manatees,  also known as Sea Cows into pens for food. This area is now called Cow Pens. More local lore is that sailors long at sea looked upon the manatee as mermaids. Now do we believe that? They must have been at sea a very long time.

from the innkeeper at Big Mill Bed & Breakfast in Williamston, NC 252-792-8787

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 .

Waiting for the Green Flash

We’re staying at the paradise home of our friends George and Louise, who have headed to Alberta in search of ducks and geese.

In my younger days I spent much of my time on a sail boat in the tropics, mainly the Caribbean. In these latitudes every day is special and the best part of the day is the sunset.

Folks stop whatever they are doing and make a toast to the sunset. We gathered at various tiki bars, boats and docks and wagered as to exactly when that great orange orb would sink below the horizon.

One skipper reckoned that each finger held at length in front of your eyes was fifteen minutes. I never won that bet, so I often paid for the drinks.

But every day I stopped and settled in to look for that Green Flash. Those who have seen it say it happens just as the sun slips into the horizon, and for a brief second a flash of green appears.

I chased the Green Flash as far south as Martinique and Guadeloupe and back up to Green Turtle Cay. I never saw it. I did dance in a rainbow. And here I am again in the Keys looking for that same Green Flash. I know it is real. (For all those who don’t know, “Cay” is pronounced “Key” in the islands.)

Other folks are looking too. Jimmy Buffett must believe it; he writes about the Green Flash in his adaptation of Don’t Stop the Carnival:

View of the Green Flash from George and Louise’s porch

 “For all the lost chances     
And all the lost dances
For strange circumstances
And island hoodoo
Green Flash at Sunset
Young love recaptured
Just an illusion?
What if it were be true?”

…and I think it’s true – news from innkeeper at Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

View The Green flash in the Florida Keys in a larger map

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.

Moses is embarrassed after her bath – Bless her heart

Chloe has tried to help by giving me numerous baths. I hate to admit it, but I am actually getting so that I don’t even mind. I also have been given several sponge baths, whatever that is. I do feel better after it is all finally over.

Chloe wanted to post a photo of me taking a bath, but that is not very lady-like, and I do have my scruples. When Playboy did the photo shoot here at Big Mill,they asked me to be in the May issue; I refused.

I haven’t done any hunting; it has just been too hot. I haven’t visited neighbors, their dogs are a bunch of hooligans and I prefer to stay home.

The mockingbird eats my food, I don’t care. The hummingbirds fly right up to me and I don’t move a muscle. I am practicing my “I don’t care and am not interested” attitude. I spend much time with my back turned to folks who want my attention. I have to maintain my superiority.

Life on the farm is good for Moses

The highlight of my day is the nightly spot of cream that I have whenever Chloe finishes her work. We both sit outside and gaze off over the lakes – life is good.

Check out The Fur Person by May Sarton

From the innkeeper at Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

I miss sweet Moses every day. She is now feeding the fig trees. I planted two pomegranates but she quickly disposed of them. She must like the fig.

Growing up on the farm in North Carolina, we loved picking berries right off the bushes.

Tasty Blueberry jam is easy to make

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 go as far away as five miles, all on dirt roads. The only mishap would be a good case of red bugs (town folks called them chiggers) but they are miserable by either name. click to get Innkeeper Chloe Tuttle’s Southern Blueberry jam Recipe

Secret Watermelon Rind Recipe finally!

Watermelon Rind Pickles are a real southern treat

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.

Click to get Miss Zulim’s Watermelon Rind Pickle Recipe

Summer in coastal North Carolina means great watermelons.

Refreshing Watermelon Punch

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 pickup truck into the field and load all the watermelons into the back. We brought them to the house and laid them under the pecan trees that are still here. Every afternoon, we would stop work and come and cut a watermelon, eat what we wanted and then take the remains to the cows and the mules. Click here to get the Watermelon Punch Recipe

Everyone in eastern North Carolina knows about fishing.  And we have all caught a cat fish. When I wanted a good recipe for Cat Fish Stew, I called up Carolyn Roberson who ran Roberson’s Marina. This is her recipe.

This Cat Fish Stew can also be made with any fish.

Gardner’s Creek is a slow moving, winding black-water creek in Eastern North Carolina that eventually makes its way to the Roanoke River by way of Devil’s Gut.

Slow moving Gardner’s Creek in eastern NC

Gardner’s Creek is a favorite of canoeists who enjoy its pristine beauty and the fisherman, who quietly sit in their boats waiting for that one bite that will yield the big one.

Several years ago I was at the creek and I felt like Tom Sawyer or even Huckleberry Finn as I watched the young boys, wearing cut-off jeans climb the tall trees, swing out over the creek and drop into the dark water, popping up a few feet away. I now have my inflatable Avon dinghy, with an engine of course, and whenever I have a minute I am on the creek.

Roanoke River Partners has built 12 camping platforms with names like Barred Owl Roost, Beaver Lodge and Cypress Cathedral along the Roanoke and Cashie Rivers. It is a great way to really know what happens in this part of the Great Dismal Swamp.

Roberson’s Marina is not open these days

Carolyn Roberson ran Roberson’s Marina on Gardner’s Creek, and to me she was the Keeper of the Creek. Carolyn knew and loved these waters, she and her husband Ed ran this same marina before he died. She  lost a leg, but that did not hamper her spirit. If you want to make a reservations, call Roanoke River Partners.

When I was looking for a catfish recipe, I certainly knew who to ask – it was Carolyn.

On July 18, 2007, the Washington Post ran a story about these wonderful camping platforms: “Swamp Things in North Carolina, Paddle down a Creek”, by Diane Daniel.  And if you don’t really want to sleep in the swamp on a platform, Ms. Daniel suggests staying at Big Mill Bed and Breakfast.

Carolyn Roberson of Roberson’s Marina on Gardner’s Creek knew all about this creek. Luckily for us, she cared about this fragile ecosystem. When I asked about her catfish stew she told me that you can make it with most any fish you have, even shrimp or crab meat. You eat what you catch. And folks are still catching fish with cane poles on Gardner’s Creek. Come join us at Big mill B&B; we have the poles.

Gardner’s Creek Catfish Stew with Cornmeal Dumplins

• 1 quart water, approximately
• 3 bunches green onions tops and bottoms, chopped (reserve 1 cup tops)
• 2 large sweet onions, peeled and sliced
• 4 hot red peppers about an inch in length, crushed (like Thai hot)
• 1 pound bacon, fried and crumbled, reserve drippings and set bacon aside
• ½ pound skinned fat back, cut into cubes and fried, reserve drippings
• 5 baking potatoes, peeled and diced
• 5 cups catfish, cut into bite-size pieces (approximately 3 pounds)
• 10 boiled eggs, peeled and diced
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Put water, 2 cups of the chopped green onions, sliced onions, red peppers, bacon drippings, fatback and drippings in a large stew pot. Cook uncovered over medium heat until onions dissolve, about 30 minutes.

Add baking potatoes to the pot. Make a layer of catfish on top of potatoes. Add dumplings (recipe below) on top of the catfish. Do not stir.

Cook until potatoes are tender and catfish is flaky, about 20-30 minutes. You can shake the pot, but do not stir.

When pot contents are done, remove from heat. Combine eggs, reserved bacon, reserved cup of green onion tops, salt and pepper. Pour evenly over contents of pot and cover pot. Let stand 30 minutes. When serving, gently spoon out in sections because the stew will be in layers.

Cornmeal Dumplings (makes about 12 dumplings)
•    1 ½ cup fine, white, non self-rising corn meal
•    1 ½ Tablespoons plain flour
•    1 teaspoon sugar
•    Dash of salt
•    Enough warm water to make a stiff paste.

Stir together corn meal, flour, sugar and salt. Slowly add enough warm water until you can form small balls about the size of a walnut. Dough will be a very stiff paste. Flatten dumplings to be the size of a fifty-cent piece.

Place dumplings on top of potatoes and catfish. Cover and simmer but do NOT stir. Keep enough water in pot to avoid sticking and shake pot occasionally.

Carolyn said that cooking is part art. The amount of water to add to the pot and the dumplings is a matter of judgment. Make sure the water does not boil out because the stew will burn.  Also, gently shake the pot from time to time to make sure it is not sticking. But do not stir!

Note: fatback is the same as salt pork, sometimes referred to as “streak of lean, streak of fat“. This is readily available in any grocery store south of that famed Mason-Dixon Line. (South of Virginia, and more realistically, south of Richmond)  If unavailable, very thick sliced bacon with skin may be substituted.

Recipe from innkeeper at Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787

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 they are, or rather aren’t. The smallest frog can make the biggest noise.

Fragrant ginger lilies perfume the air

Crickets will start in mid-summer, when the nights are still. Maybe that is why I have always liked Tennessee Williams. Growing up, we left the windows and doors open, there was no air conditioning. I don’t remember being too hot. Now we have wonderful, energy efficient air conditioners. We wonder how we survived without them.

Nights also bring the summer smells. First comes the honeysuckle, then the gardenia, or as the old folks called them, Cape jasmine. Moon flowers are next and the glorious ginger lilies, they permeate the night air with a sweet smell of jasmine.

In late July and in August the smell of tobacco curing sneaks in. None of us smokes, but the night smell of curing tobacco is comforting and reminds me of home and youth, playing with my nephew Barney. It is a good thing to remember.

Barney has now come back to his roots, just as I have. We are happy. And you cannot forget the night sights: the fireflies, the shooting stars and the imagined space ships. They are all still here and that too is good. You just might see one if you join us.

Big Mill Bed & Breakfast 252-792-8787