I think some duck courting has been going on around the pond.........Our daffodils are all bloomed out...... buds on the pear trees

and lots of other signs of spring going on at our place.  The Inn is booked for next weekend and we have a painting class the last Sat. n February.....do you want to come for a visit?  Just let me know.

We are looking for valentines......................won't you "be mine" and come for a visit to the Inn this year?........Call us and mention "be mine" anytime this year and get a discount.........

Also, we'll be at the Wilmington Wine & Chocolate festival all the first weekend in February..stop by and take a 'sip" from our samples.

Cheers! 

 Llama poop is a great 'natural' fertilizer and will not "burn" the plants......We just finished 2 days of spreading poop to all the trees, flowers, blueberry bushes, blackberries, herbs...........the vineyard grapes are next!!!!!  Can't wait to see the results in Spring!

 Just finished making a blueberry apricot cobbler for b'fast at the Inn.....yum!    Next year hopefully we'll be getting our own fresh blueberries....

 #1 way to reduce stress.......take a  bike ride with your grandchild........breath, relax and just listen to whatever they need to say.

So much to do around the vineyard these days, but taking a few minutes to relax and take a short bike ride around the property and  thru the woods with grandaughter, Naomi, was just what I needed to relax and now getting back to work. 

 You should have been here last night.....Pot Luck Italian dinner with the campers....Oh my!  The food was fantastic, such a variety and it was ALL good.l.....I have tried to get outside to walk/exercise today but have not had a chance.  We've been busy with wine tasters from Canada, Penn., N.Y., Raleigh-Durham  and locals!!!  Glad I have elastic in  my wasteband today!  lol

 Inaugural event: Gardner Suggs Herb & Wellness Festival

Sat. April 28th. (rain date - Sat. May 5th.)

2:00 pm until - ?

Come learn more about culinary herbs, medicinal herbs, crafting with herbs.  We will have a plant exchange and end the date with a pot luck herb dish and bonfire. Vendor's welcome, please call/ 910-653-2944. If you do anything with plants or herbs we want you here.  Benefits of Essential oils will be discussed by a professional.  Healthy life styles for better quality of life.  Walking plant tour..whats growing in the words that we can eat.... or leave alone???

We are attempting to form a herb society for this area, looking for people who are interested or have a ......

 Ever heard of Grappa?   Stan Williams just sent me some Grappa... Grappa is one of Italy's most popular alcoholic drinks, with the main ingredient being pomace, which consists of the grape skins, seeds and stalks that are left over from the winemaking process.  These are taken through a second process of distillation, which extracts the remaining flavours from the pomace before the waste is discarded.  The grappa is then either bottled at once, which creates white grappa or aged in wooded casks to create the yellow grappa known as riserva.  Grappa is a wonderful way to end a meal, drunk either as a shot or on its own or added to an espresso.  Cheers! Thank you Stan!

 I went back to Hickory, NC for a long weekend, a place where I lived for 30 years, raised two boys and made lots of friends, lots of GOOD friends.....on my ride home, it was revealed to me that I honestly have 2 homes and it feels great to get to visit and live and see lots of folks, get lots of hugs and people who can't wait for you to come back, soon, real soon!  LOVE to all my Hickory family of friends, you know who you are....

 2011 wine is now in the house.....YIPPIE!  So far we  have Old Timer's Festival, Sunset Blush and Tabor's Choice from 2011 grapes...can't wait to try them.