There is a difference between a sweet potato and a yam. They aren’t even related yet sweet potatoes are often mistakenly referred to as yams. Sweet potatoes are actually the root of a morning glory vine. A yam is the tuber of a vine grown in Central and South America. Yams are quite toxic if eaten raw… Read more
On the Farm
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
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
All the flowers are popping out and the grass is green and growing fast. Time will move slowly if you just relax in the hammock or sit in the wicker swing that hangs from a pecan tree planted by my folks in 1922. The sturdiest perennials like the peonies, tradescantia (spiderwort), ginger lilies, everlasting sunflowers… Read more
