Sitting rooms

Foxgloves

The foxgloves are having their moment.

Stop and smell the roses

There is no need to stop and smell these roses. You can smell them a mile away just walking by.

Fragrant climbers.

M&Ms

Mmmmm. Bottom-less Peanut M&Ms. Sometimes the simplest things are the best.

Garden crazy

I'm a little garden crazy these days. It really looks great this time of year.

This house

This wonderful Federalist house. This blue, blue sky. The very green grass. Our gardeners are heroes.

What a great day.

Sea Ridge Cottage sunny day

A sunny day at the Sea Ridge Cottage.

What a pretty spot it is.

Pullet surprise

Today is the very first day the chicks slept outside their nest box. Mom decided to roost, and they all followed suit.

But, clearly, it's hard to fit fourteen little ones under Mom to keep warm on the roost, even with them on her back.

But I think she's done very well.

Mailbox

Art Piscitteli (see post below) made this great mailbox for us.

It's modeled after the Bar[n] seen in the distance. We especially like the subtlety of the llama on the arm. Yes, it's modeled after Big Sue (also below).

This mailbox makes going to get the mail FUN.

Sue smiles - guest photo

Submitted by Barbara Steinberg.

This is Big Sue.

Seems to me she blinked for the camera while chewing her dinner. A bad combo when a camera is around, but she does look pretty happy.

Green eyes

Miss Roxy is one pretty cat. We have to admit it. And an amazing hunter to boot.

Good cat, good cat.

Woodpecker sky

This was meant to be a picture of this Acorn woodpecker, but it didn't come out too great.

But the sky is so blue, it's a striking picture.

The fish are awake

The fish in the pond have been sleeping all winter and stay down out of sight.

That now we have some warmer days, they're surfacing and taking in the sun.

The lily pads provide cover.

It's fun to have them back.

Morning garden path

This time of year is all about the garden. And its blooms.

So, these posts, I admit, are "garden heavy."

But how can I resist? It's peak season.

Giant purple rhododendron

Giant purple rhododendron. Needless to say, this bush was not planted last year.

How old must it be?

Not sure but that is one big, prolific rhodey.

Another view here.

East Farmington cozy fire - guest photo

This sent to me this morning from the East Farmington room.

Guests took this photo last night in of the East Farmington sitting area.

Nice.

Thank you for sending to me!

Firewood

The firewood we use comes from our own woods. We've lost some older oaks and pines in winter storms which have provided enough wood for two winter seasons so far.

Warm chicks - a weekly update

How many three-week old chicks can a hen keep warm at night?

Fourteen.

At least that's what this hen is doing. Well done, I'd say.

May rains

We realy need this rain. And I love it. It's so fresh outside and who doesn't love a wood-burning fireplace in this kind of weather? What a perfectly cozy weekend.

It's hard to photograph rain, so these are rain drops in the koi pond. I swear.

Friends

Glendeven owner John Dixon with friends Greg Gorman and John Scharffenberger in Philo today. A very nice day indeed.

Fern shadow

Everything is coming up, even the ferns. Fresh and new for the summer.

(I've decided this is the best way to have a self-portrait done -- without having to touch up the wrinkles.)

Finch pair

A pair of pretty finches. They're back for the season.

Fish eggs

Fish eggs on the bar.

Wild iris

Wild rises on the path to the chicken yard. Nice.

Chicks update

Mother Hen is taking fine care of her foster brood. We are two weeks out since their arrival and they're "feathering out" already.
They grow up so fast. They're all brilliant and I'm sure all headed for Stanford.


Seriously, it's very fun to watch. They're in constant motion.

Steller's jay

Lots of birds around - always. These guys are frequent visitors to our many feeders.

Our Courtyard Market Umbrellas

Our new market umbrellas in the Wine Bar[n]'s courtyard. Fun.

Miss Roxy pounces

This cat runs passed you as you walk the grounds. Out of nowhere she'll leap and follow anyone. Everyone. Out from under bushes, from behind a fence. She likes people. A lot.

Afternoon cypress sun

It's been very warm these last few days. Beautiful weather. Cooler as the sun goes down this afternoon.

Showy Pieris bush

Spring is all about the garden. Here is one of the pieris bushes. Such a cool plant. The new growth is red, and paired with the dripping flower clusters, it makes for quite a show.

JUST MARRIED

Every day nice people come to the inn and often times they're celebrating anniversaries, birthdays, or other events. We love being part of each special day.

Here is an image from today of the back car window of our new newly-wedded friends. They said they want to make reservations for their first, fifth & tenth anniversaries. We’ll be here, and can’t wait to see them back again.

Wine Bar[n] Garden

The new gardens at the Wine Barn's yard and courtyard are in their second spring, and they're starting to look pretty good I think. You can also see the greenhouse, water tower and the Barn Loft's deck.

Champagne and Wine

A special champagne and wine tasting in the Farmhouse lounge. Special indeed.

Pretty chickens

What baby chickens aspire to be.

White rhody's moment

The rhododendrons all bloom at different times. White is having its moment at the moment.

Llama regatta

It's rare that all the llama ladies all kush at once. If the meadow were the sea, they'd be a regatta.

Easter Chicks!

This is the coolest thing. We had a broody hen here at Glendeven. She was instinctually hatching eggs, but there were no eggs under her to hatch and, well, we don't even have a rooster....

So an online search uncovered some tricks for “snapping her out of it”, so she'd start laying again and running around with the rest of everyone. I wasn’t sure about any of the proposed ideas, and figured I’d just let her snap out of it on her own.

It just so happens that my set of new chicks was arriving and the nice folks at Highway 20 Feed told me that -- and this is the cool part -- if I slipped the new chicks under the hen while she's sleeping, she'll awaken a new mom and care for them. All 15 of them. All different breeds of them. There was a chance it wouldn't work, but was worth a shot.

Needless to say, it worked!

This is a "win-win-win".

Chicks are happy and safe, mother hen gets what she was hoping for -- her own clutch of chicks -- and I don't have to worry about heat lamps, cleaning a chick box, and the stress of introducing the young birds to the yard. Nature will take care of itself.

Happy Easter indeed!

-John

Wooded parking lot's welcome gate

Glendeven has parking for 25 cars in our wooded lot just north of the inn buidlings.

We direct people there for events and other overflow parking needs, so we built a gate and a trail to the Wine Bar[n]'s courtyard to welcome folks who enter from that direction. The signage matches the rest of what we've done around the property, and I think Art Piscitelli (see previous Blog entry) did a great job of building the gate.























The design matches the woodwork on the Carriage House's trellis pictured here.

Salmon Rhododendron

We have about 35 mature rhododendrons on the property, and I think these may be my favorites. The salmon color is pretty striking. That is Bayloft's ocean view window on the background.