Spiderwort – Big Mill’s “Canary in the coal mine” This wonderful blue flower that grows in my eastern North Carolina garden is Spiderwort (Tradescantia), pronounced trad-ess-KANT-ee-uh. Each day in spring and early summer I am greeted with the vibrant blue of these odd beauties. Then about noon, they close. My mother loved these flowers –… Read more
On the Farm
Getting married on the farm, surrounded by nature has a calming effect. What a great way to start your new life together, away from the crowd. I have friends who love their motorcycles, old trucks and all their grown-up “toys.” So why not be married beside your Harley or in your vintage Corvette? Big weddings… Read more
Molasses — that dark, sweet liquid that tastes so good on a hot biscuit — was once a staple on every farm in eastern North Carolina Melvin Price and Lucy making molasses My dad’s family made molasses and to him molasses on a sweet potato was a meal. He told me all about how they… Read more
Just settle into the hammock or in a swing on the farm at Big Mill and wait …. but not for very long. Yes, you’ll have to wind down and be still and quiet – but you will be well-rewarded. Soon, right before your eyes, the birds start singing and hop out of their hiding… Read more
Everywhere you look, it’s planting time in eastern North Carolina Nephew Monk Gurkin above in 1959. Monk and Aunt Chloe (that’s me) had our own garden that year. We raised tomatoes to sell to local restaurants – and for our tomato sandwiches. Note the hog pen in back. Seems we all dig in the dirt… Read more
The North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission has issued a challenge to Bloggers who blog about food – create an original sweet potato recipe. First thing I had to do was learn how to spell “potato.” … amazes me that it has no “e.” My dad grew lots of sweet potatoes here on the farm at… Read more
Martin Supply in eastern North Carolina is just as it has always been. And they buy and sell pecans. Farmsteads throughout the south have pecan groves. And all the southern cooks like Paula Deen have great pecan recipes, and Bourbon Pecan Pie is on everyone’s list. Every year a company from Georgia comes to Martin Supply… Read more
Our hummingbirds arrive at Big Mill B&B sometime around Easter – and it is with a flourish and a big show, chattering and demanding food. And since we are a designated Bird and Breakfast Bird-Friendly Business, we willingly obliged. Guy’s outstanding photo, taken here at Big Mill B&B, earned him 1st place in the 2010 Beaufort County Arts… Read more
Did you know that bees are responsible for every third bite of food that we eat? Bees are fascinating little creatures and they are in trouble. The Great Sunflower Project was begun in 2008 by the biology department at San Francisco State University to study the wild bee population. In 2009, lots of us were… Read more
Big Mill Bed and Breakfast owner Chloe Tuttle remembers life on the farm
