Why stay at a real Bed & Breakfast?

Why stay at a real or traditional Bed and Breakfast?  Well, when you stay at a bed and breakfast you get services and protection that you may not get elsewhere.  Let’s start with the first – you get breakfast!  A hearty hot breakfast that is adjusted to any dietary restrictions or food allergies that you or anyone in your party may have.  I start my guests with a fresh fruit dish – anything from a seasonal fresh fruit salad to maple pears poached in maple syrup and topped with granola to a melon yogurt parfait.  Then the entree – will it be lemon blueberry pancakes, Amaretto French toast, mini-frittatas?  Each day I cook something different and season – in the fall it might be Pumpkin Pie French Toast or Apple Cider Pancakes, in the summer fresh Blueberry Pancakes with blueberries picked just down the road from me.  I offer a variety of breakfast meats to go with your entree – bacon, canadian bacon (back bacon), sausage, or veggie sausage.  I serve as much local, organic food as I can.  Heading out early – let me know and I will put a “to go” breakfast in the fridge for you to take with you – from fresh home baked muffins to overnight oats.

Next – you get your own personal concierge to help you plan your day – AND I often have discounts for various attractions in the area – such at the Mt. Washington Auto Road, Great Glen Trails, Wildcat Mountain, and Attitash Mountain.  I live here so I can guide you to hiking trails, area attractions, birding spots, places to look for moose, etc.

Oh – and when you return from your day – your room is made up and there are home baked goodies waiting for you!  No baking for you to do, and no clean up!

Then there are the free to use movies, games, puzzles – for you and your family to enjoy family time with.

Need help with dinner choices – I’m happy to help!  I have sample menus from area restaurants and can guide you towards what food you are in the mood for.

Next – I am inspected by the health inspector annually.  I am inspected by the fire department.  I have insurance to protect you and your belongings.  AND I live at my bed and breakfast – it is my home – so if you have a problem I am here!

Have I convinced you yet?  Next blog – why you should #bookdirect.

 

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Happy 4th of July!

Wishing everyone a safe and happy 4th of July.  We salute those men and women who have fought to protect our freedom and independence.  After our barbeque – being a Vegetarian I’m having a Veggie Burger with corn and potato salad – we are headed for the Gorham 4th of July Celebration.  Carnival rides, games, and fireworks tonight it is a fun event for all – a wonderful small town celebration.   Daisy refused to wear the hat but she’s got her 4th of July on!

Daisy wishes you a Happy 4th!

Hummingbird Rescue

Last week I was at a meeting at a friend’s inn when a guest of theirs came in and said a hummingbird was in the sun room.  The husband had gotten the poor little guy out of the window and he brought him outside.  I had read that to revive a hummer it should be given sugar water, so I got out the hummingbird food that my friend has to refill his feeder.  I went outside to where the little guy was, poured some in my hand then gently lifted the little fellow to try to get him to drink.  He took just a sip and that was it.  So, I placed him in my palm closer to the water – he started to sip from between my fingers like drinking from the feeder (it tickled!).  He drank a little then we moved him to the shade, put a feeder close by and then lifted him onto the feeder where he drank away!  Much to our delight he then flutter his wings and landed on, appropriately enough, a “Hummingbird Crossing” sign.  He then flew back to the feeder, drank again – then took off!  We cheered.

Now for years at the end of every summer – I try to entice these tiny birds to come close to me.  I take down some feeders and stand closer and closer to them as the birds get used to me.  Then I hold a feeder in my hand (I’ve seen videos of people doing this) but to no avail.  So this rescue was the first time I’ve ever held a Hummingbird – I was beside myself with joy!  I truly feel like I was given a wondrous gift!

Little male Hummingbird

Another summer is here!

It’s been a busy year – and I cannot believe it has been over a year since I’ve posted.  Another summer come and gone, another fall, ghost & goblin tour, snowy winter, maple season (we made 3 gallons of syrup this year!), and now it’s almost the 4th of July.  This past year has been filled with many wonderful guests both return and new.  I have the best job!  I have the honor of hosting delightful people from all over the world – Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Australia, the UK, France, South Africa, Japan, Canada, Brazil, and of course, fellow Americans.  My Dad & I just celebrated our 16th year of being Innkeepers.  Wow – how time flies!   How things have changed since 1999 too.  The Internet was just beginning to be the way people looked for places to visit back in 1999 – today we are using our phones to look at websites and book online.  Go figure!   I like to talk to my potential guests – why?, because I can make sure you are staying where you want to be.  I’ve guided folks who thought I was in British Columbia to the correct place, or those who really want to be in different section of the White Mountains to another Inn closer to where they want to be.  It keeps things personal and after all, isn’t that what staying at a Bed & Breakfast or Country Inn supposed to be?

I look forward to all the guests I will host this summer and upcoming fall – people from places far and near.  Helping them plan their day’s adventure, whether it be hiking, biking, kayaking, canoeing, rafting, fishing, zip-lining, going for a rolling dog sled ride, gondola ride, birdwatching, sightseeing, going to the top of Mt. Washington –

Hummingbird enjoying his breakfast!

or just relaxing on the porch with a good book or to watch the hummingbirds!  We offer a variety of packages to help you too.  Come on up and let me help you explore the White Mountains!

Is it maple sugar season YET????

This has been a strange winter! March has brought temps that we usually have in January! We generally tap our trees in early March but just tapped them this past weekend. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that temps rise above freezing during the day and below freezing at night but not so warm during the day that the trees start to bud. It’s quite the complicated process this maple sugaring.  At least we’ve tapped the trees.  It’s a waiting game now.

Maple Sugar Season is almost here!

Maple Sugar season is almost here – soon the temperatures will be above freezing during the day and below freezing at night and the sap will run!  Time to clean the maple buckets, spiles, covers, and collection containers.  Time to gather all our supplies and wait for the forecast to call for warming temps.  We’ll dig out paths to the maple trees and then dig out our “refrigeration” in the snow.  We try to utilize the natural refrigeration the snow provides to keep our sap cold until we have enough to start boiling.  The boiling is the “hard” part – it is just time consuming.  We boil on the stove since we are a small backyard operation.  We boil for 12 hours a day or so and then put the sap in the fridge until the next day when we boil again.  The reward is great though – dark rich maple syrup.  Dark maple syrup offers the strongest maple flavor and is my favorite – not just for cooking with but also to warm up and pour on pancakes or French toast.  Yum!

We try to have enough sap to start boiling before our March Maple Madness  on March 22nd.  This fun Inn-to-Inn event offers guests the opportunity to visit the historic inns of BBInnsMWV while sampling maple treats savory and sweet.

Maple Sugaring at the Mt. Washington B & B

What to do on a Spring-Like day!

Mt. Washington Bed & Breakfast

What a gorgeous few days we’ve had! Yesterday was sunny and around 50 degrees here in the White Mountains. Today is just as beautiful – wow! My guests cross country skied yesterday at Great Glen Trails at the base of Mt. Washington in Pinkham Notch. Today they’ve headed over to Bear Notch Skiing in Bartlett. Me – I went out to snowshoe. I like to snowshoe on my property and check out who has left prints in the snow. I’ve seen fox prints, coyote prints, turkey trails, bobcat trails, and lots of trails by the smaller critters in the area. The bobcat trails are the most fascinating to me – I have never seen a bobcat on my property but see plenty of evidence that they are here. I would love to see one and snap a photo but they are shy and elusive cats.
I started out dressed warmly with a polartec jacket, windbreaker, and gloves. Ditched the windbreaker and gloves in a very short time. It is just gorgeous out here! Today I saw turkey, and a cat and possible fox tracks. No bobcat tracks. The sky is bright blue and there are some clouds but not many. I snowshoed around the Western side of the property and into the wood, then came back into the house for water and lighter clothing. Then back out I went and walked along the Eastern side of the property. The turkey tracks were all over the property and what I believe are kitty tracks.

Turkey tracks by the Pear tree

SnowCoach Tour

Guests are headed up to tree line on the Mt. Washington Auto Road’s SnowCoach today.  They won tickets from me by being the first guests to reserve for the Valentine’s/Presidents Weekend.  I thought of tagging along as I have another ticket but it is Co-old up there today!  I looked at the Mt. Washington Observatory’s website – <a href=”http://www.mwobs.com”>www.mwobs.com</a> – to see what the weather was like.  Brrrrr – 69 plus mile an hour winds, making the wind chill about 30 below zero F.  Don’t get me wrong – I like adventure but that’s just a little too cold for me and my Canon Digital camera.  The poor thing would freeze on me and then I’d freeze waiting for it to thaw to take photos.  I live up here and can go on a warmer day (and I really need to find my long johns!).  I will find out when they come back if they went up or decided it would be too cold and windy for them too.  They are much more adventurous than I am – they come up every fall to hike Mt. Washington and take a different route every year.  I provided some Chocolate Amaretto Fudge to help fortify them!</p>

Valentine’s Day at the Bed & Breakfast

Happy Valentine’s Day from Miss Daisy!

Happy Valentine’s Day – or rather day after Valentine’s Day.  I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine’s Day with your special someone.  My special someone is Miss Daisy pictured above.

This weekend is all about Chocolate – yesterday when guests checked in they arrived to Chocolate Frosted Brownies in their room.  Breakfast this morning guests were treated to Chocolate Strawberry Pancakes as part of their Valentine’s Weekend Stay – yum!  I had initially thought of making them with some Amaretto but, foolishly, decided not to.  After guests were served and they all headed out to ski I made myself on with Amaretto in it – Oh MY!  Next time definitely preparing them with the Amaretto.   When guests return from skiing, they will be greeted with homemade fudge, I’ll use the Amaretto in the fudge.

Adventures on Mt. Washington

My apologies – it has been some time since I’ve posted anything.  It was quite a busy 2013 at the Mt. Washington Bed and Breakfast here in Shelburne, NH.  Last year I joined the Mt. Washington Auto Road on several of their tours.  The first was their Bicknell’s Thrush Tours in June.  If you’ve never heard of the Bicknell’s Thrush, it is a small gray bird that nests at higher elevations in harsh climates – perfect description of Mt. Washington.  If you’d like to learn more go to: http://mtwashingtonautoroad.com/events/bicknells-thrush-tours/ and check it out.  I had a great time, the tour leaders were very informative and although I did not see the little bird others did and I did hear its call.  I offer a Bicknell’s Package if you’d like to take this tour.

In August I took the guided tour up to the top of Mt. Washington – what a wonderful ride!  The tour was great, the driver talked about the history of the road, the weather, moose, bear, and pointed out landmarks and the various peaks in the Presidential Range to us.  Then a few days later I joined them again and Ernie Mills Photography for a Sunrise Photography Tour – wow!  It was so breathtakingly beautiful up on top of Mt. Washington waiting for the sunrise.  It was very cold – winds were 59 miles an hour with higher gusts.  There were low level clouds that made it look like we were surrounded by islands in a sea.  Again – another tour I highly recommend and yes, I do offer an Adventure Photography Tour Package.