Janet's blog

Meet Butch

2009-04-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

Whenever a new calf is born on Cloud 9 Farm, the renter at the time, gets to name it. Sooooo, presenting Butch, named by two sisters from Florida, looking for a macho name for this new stud. Actually this new baby face stud will have a couple weeks reprieve before becoming a steer! I bent down to gather some baling twine with camera in the other hand and Butch ventured away from his mother to investigate. The whole time she was growling like a mad dog warning him of possible danger, but still Butch independently checked me out, looking back at her every other step. He finally did heed her call but not until I got some really good photos of that milk face!

Blueberry Nectar Flow

2009-04-20T16:00:00.001-04:00

The sweet perfume of blueberry blossoms pulls the honey bees and bumble bees into the lure of sweet reward...poliinating for a cross pollinated crops for me and sweet nectar to take back to the hive for the colony. I keep 5 colonies of honeybees for this sole purpose that happens every April here at Cloud 9 Farm. It's a little later than normal with the much needed rains and the long lasting blackberry winter but welcome as the true sign of spring.

Look at that Rock!

2009-04-12T21:00:00.003-04:00

On her hand ...on her ring finger! It happened this week at Heavenly Hideaway cabin! Such a romantic get-away!

Path of the Sun from Cloud 9 Property

2009-03-29T08:35:00.004-04:00

On the first day of spring, (March 20 this year) the sun rises right over the tippy top of Little Pisgah mountain from Cloud 9 Properties. Click the link to see other views. But this is just a week and 2 days later and look how much it's moved to the northeast. I'll take another photo on the longest day of the year (June 21) to compare. Being in touch with nature is what I like about living here!

Green and Yellow

2009-03-25T11:47:00.000-04:00

Colors and feelings...doesn't bright grass green and daffodil yellow just make you feel fresh, alive, and healthy? Of course, coming to the mountains SHOULD make you feel like that all year long. So come! Here's a photo of a side of Cloud 9 Relaxation Home, 4 bedrooms for a great family reunion spot.

Tasty Tadpoles

2009-03-20T08:58:00.001-04:00

"Or should I say, poolishicious polliwogs, Quack, Quack!" Yeah, that's Mr. and Mrs. Woodduck thanking me for brunch at Peterson Pond. Here's the story: While doing some swamp drainage in the cow pasture, we noticed some gelatinous globs of what must be tree frog eggs. Knowing that they would soon be covered with a culvert, a rescue plan immediately took shape. Grab the vacation rental kids for a farm adventure! So kids from 3 to 10 who were staying that day had a ball scooping the eggs and catching individual tadpoles with buckets (and mud, of course) while parents took photos. We took them to Peterson pond's warm edge and dumped them ceremoniously into their new home, proud to have done the amphibian kingdom a favor. After they left and I continued working nearby, I was heralded by two ducks quacking in the sky, and plummeting skillfully with cupped wings in an almost vertical drop to the pond. You can guess what their first order of business was. Just hope they were tasty.

Book now for Bele Chere Weekend

2009-03-05T15:21:00.001-05:00

I could rent Cloud 9 Relaxation Home and Heavenly Heavenly Hideaway cabin 10 times for this last weekend in July because of the popularity of Bele Cher, Asheville's (and the Southeast's)biggest and free street party, so get your reservation plans done now! We are 15 minutes from down town Asheville, a total of 4 turns and you're there having fun.

PS It always rains at least once during Bele Cher. Bring an umbrella!

Landscape in snow

2009-03-04T11:00:00.000-05:00

I love how the snow defines the landsacape. This is from the "big" snow on Sunday. We haven't gotten this kind of snow in 4 or 5 years so, forget about the inconvenience, just enjoy it.

PS All roads are clear so you can get to Cloud 9, no problem.

Elvis has been seen at Cloud 9!

2009-03-03T09:00:00.001-05:00

or rather...Tiki Head with White Mustache...but it does look like Elvis. Just another winter photo from Cloud 9 farm.

Winter Wonderland at Cloud 9

2009-03-02T14:57:00.002-05:00

It was quite a snow we had yesterday, making everything so beautiful on Cloud 9 Farm here on the southern slope of the Blue Ridge Mountains. About 5 inches. Too bad you're not on vacation and getting snowed in! Here are the chicken girls trying to decide whether to come out of the coop or not. It was so funny watching them cautiously looking at that white stuff and weighing the pros and cons with their pea-sized brains. Then a great push came from behind and one was out, then two more.

Food you can "nuzzle"

2009-02-22T21:36:00.003-05:00

On these cold days at Cloud 9 Farm, the cows really look forward to a serving of warm silage, chopped fermented corn stalks with plump whole kernel corn. It steams with the composting heat in the frigid air as I shovel it in the trough. Their pleasure is evident because they bury their sensitive noses in the warmth and stir it around before taking their long tongue in a swirled scooping thrust to devour this yummy winter delight. The closest thing I can relate to the feeling would be wrapping yourself and head in a soft fleece blanket and rubbing it on your cheek. There’s little Valentine, with the white heart mark on his head.It looked more heart shaped as a new born with his smaller head. I don't usually name the calves as these are beef cattle, but he was a natural!

Bee Tree

2009-02-15T18:00:00.001-05:00

My new friend, who is in the tree business, has a heart. He saved this chuck of tree with a bee hive in it to bring home and nurture. So here it is, propped up with stones and with a hive box on top of the hole in the tree. There is an upside down jar of sugar water with tiny pin pricks in the lid for the bees to suck out of with their straw-like tongues. I hope they make it through the winter. My beekeeper friends and I will help him put the hive in a box in the spring so they can expand and flourish. There is a way to take all the precious comb we can carefully retrieve and rubber band it into the rectangular frames for the honey bees to attach. Who knows, they may be "survivor" bees of rare genetic stock.

Hot Tub with a View

2009-02-09T21:45:00.003-05:00

I love this time of year, when the leaves are off the trees and you can see a true view at Heavenly Hideaway cabin. In the summer you are completely secluded by forest but now you can see the distant mountains (and no houses). Very quiet! And if you were in the hot tub tonight...oooo, la, la...a full moon that would cast that second-hand sunlight into pleasing romantic tones.

Think Spring!

2009-02-05T12:21:00.001-05:00

Spring Fling at Cloud 9 Farm

Cloud 9 Relaxation Home and Heavenly Hideaway Cabin await your INNER RENEWAL for Spring.
With any booking in March/April '09 mention "I read your blog" and you'll have a breakfast delight basket waiting for you:
Fresh ground whole wheat bread, half dozen Cloud 9 large brown chicken eggs (you can gather them yourself if you like), a chunk of hand-rolled Amish butter, and locally produced fruit preserves.

2009-02-04T14:58:00.001-05:00

Dang it's Cold!

2009-02-04T12:29:00.003-05:00

Goldy, the rooster, is so stoic as he waits for warmer weather up on his perch in the hen house. Got a little frostbite on those wattles, don't you old man? It did go down to 10 last night, and even though the Cloud 9 Farm Chickens protect themselves in the wind break of the hen house, a little frostbite on those tender combs is inevitable. So before another night of 10 degrees, I'll get him in a"football hold", gently under one arm, and smear it good all over where it must hurt to nsulate it. Oh, what we don't do for chickens on this conservation farm!

New Art Work Adorns Heavenly Hideaway

2009-01-28T10:44:00.003-05:00

Pyrographic Art is the fancy word for wood burning with an etching pen and filling in with beautiful colors. Here is the new headboard on the king-size bed in Heavenly Hideaway cabin, a couple's secluded get-away on Cloud 9 property. Lisa, a spirit-filled, talented artist was commissioned to do this for me. I think she captured the blissful feeling of staying here at the Hideaway...you're floating on love-filled air in the clouds listening to etheric music. She is a local artist in Black Mountain with Earthfin Studios. She has muses from other realms, for sure!

The Antics of Duke, our Neighbor's Dog

2009-01-26T12:05:00.003-05:00

When I say neighbors, I mean the neighbors a 1/2 mile away on the other mountain down the road, because Cloud 9, for a vacation rental is a very private spot. But the other day, an alert renter couple who were hiking to Buzzard's Roost, noticed this cute beagle joined them. Waiting to meet another hiker they just kept walking and the dog excitedly followed them, sniffing rabbit trails along the way, but always running to catch up. After reaching the top (2,470 ft.) and coming down again, no other hiker showed up, so reaching down to check the dog tag, "Duke" belonged to an address down the road. The hiker called it on his cell phone, and Fred and Brenda were so relieved to find out someone had found their new dog, Duke, that had escaped that morning. They met the hikers and Duke at the bottom of the Cloud 9 trail and were happily reunited, thanks to good people!

Winter Hiking in the Blue Ridge NC Mountains

2009-01-21T15:27:00.003-05:00

Hiking is really great in the mountains in the cool 40-50 degree air. That’s my favorite temperature to hike in because you can start out wearing 2 tee shirts and a sweat shirt and end up with just one on with the others wrapped around your waist. There are lots of great places to hike off the parkway trails (but sometimes they close the road because of ice so check first.) The best place of ALL to hike is right up to Cloud 9’s own, Buzzard’s Roost. It’s pet friendly and you won’t need a leash. There’s a mailbox with a journal at the top, just so you can write that you made it! The hike starts at the garden in the valley of Cloud 9 Farm and is about a mile of gradual incline tractor road. Here’s a quote from one of the entries I found in the journal, “Hill, my foot, this is a friggin’ mountain.” Obviously she needed that hike!

Winter Turkey Tracks

2009-01-21T10:29:00.005-05:00

Wildlife is abundant here on Cloud 9 Farm even in the winter. The wild turkeys are starting to gather in preparation for mating season in late February and March which is a spectacle to see. The fanning of the tom turkey's tail, his head change color from pink to bright red to purple...oh, so handsome. That would be a great time to vacation here. Bring your camera. You can get unbelievably close. Especially since it's the misplaced chicken scratch that they love to eat right around my chicken coop. Whoops, did I say "misplaced?" ...on purpose misplaced that is. I love observing them.

Biltmore Estate in the Winter

2009-01-05T14:44:00.004-05:00

You can almost have the whole Biltmore Estate to yourself. The prices are the best now through March and you know, the house tours can be shoulder to shoulder on summer weekends. If you can’t come now, come in warmer weather during week days for the best summer prices.

Fire Pit Fun

2009-01-03T15:46:00.005-05:00

Here's the view at suset on a winter's eve enjoying the fire pit at Cloud 9 Relaxation Home. We provide the wood, starter mix and log seats. You provide the kindling from the nearby woods (make it a family project), the marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers. Smores anyone?

BREECH! Chicken Run Occurs

2009-01-02T09:00:00.005-05:00

Nawwww,

Only in the movies...My chickens know where I feed them and where it is safe from the hawk (I only let them out of their large run coop after I know the chicken hawk has made his rounds.) With the wind the other night, a leaning tree fell on the chicken coop. But, here come first-to-wake-up vacationers at Cloud 9, knocking on my door to lend a helping hand. We cut the tree off the coop in firewood-size pieces and they put down their morning coffee cups to help stack it around the fire pit. Our motto is "We work, you relax" but, hey, if it's fun, join in! Next, I'll show you the fire pit pictures.

Like Antique-ing?

2008-12-09T15:50:00.003-05:00

I love browsing for antiques and

Biltmore Village is the place to go for that and more. They have it decorated for Christmas so it looks like an old English Village. It was the craftsman's village for living while working on the Biltmore Estate in the 1890s. The best place to eat is The Corner Kitchen because they have local foods cooked in such gourmet ways. I recommend the breakfast “Boston Way Bagel and Lox” for lunch the “Biltmore Village Reuben House cooked Corned beef on griddle toasted Rye with melted Swiss and our own yummy Sauerkraut” and for supper, “Black Pepper Molasses Pork Chop with Gingered Sweet Potatoes and Fried Green Tomatoes”
Antique hunting in those barns where they have consignment antiques in little room-like settings is where I found my cute little horsey toy decoration on the fireplace, as well as wooden filing cabinets that I had made into bedside tables in Heavenly Hideaway. I found the greatest cast iron heart pan there for $25 that I have in the Hideaway. Hearts are my theme there!

2008-11-28T11:47:00.000-05:00

Anne Tansy of Twig work made this beautiful table that sits inside the living room at Heavenly Hideaway Cabin. I like to purchase local art because the western North Carolina Mountains draw a magnitude of talented arts so why go else where. In fact there are craft tours you can take to see the artists in their own studios sponsored by Hand Made in America. Come to Cloud 9 and see all the other regional artwork I have collected.

Pepper, the cow, has a calf

2008-11-02T19:00:00.000-05:00

I rarely get to see my own cows having their calf because usually it occurs so early in the morning or night. But Pepper, my favorite cow, because she is such a good mother to her calves and has plenty of milk, gave me the first oppotunity at 4 in the after noon. These pics were taken with a zoom so they are a little fuzzy but I didn't want to disturb this private moment. Look for the white valentine on its little black head. All the other cows came curiously over to investigate. I usually name a calf for whatever renter is staying at Cloud 9 Relaxation Home, but this was too obvious...Valentine is his name.

Fungi Hunting is Fun

2008-10-14T12:33:00.002-04:00

It's mid October and there are still bursts of interesting and beautiful fungi growing out of oak tree roots. Here's a beautiful pinkish orange. It grows bigger by the day! The closest Ican come to identifying it in my Mushrooms of North America book is Polyporus Sulphureus but they say it should be sulphur-yellow. "Growing on a wide variety of hardwoods commonly in late summer and fall, widely distributed." Edible, but I think I'll pass and just admire it. Lots to do on Cloud 9 Farm. Come and hunt fungi on my 200 acres.

Baby Chicks

2008-06-06T10:46:00.002-04:00

There's always something to do with chickens here on Cloud 9 Farm. I keep a flock of about 30 with a rooster, (presently "Goldie") which gives me enough farm fresh, large, brown eggs to share with renters, to sell locally and to make quiches, custards and cakes anytime I want. Here's the latest hatch...sort of sad, though. I have 5 mother hens that have given me hope that they are good mothers, but only 3 were serious. The two others abandoned ship and left me with 14 getting-cool eggs. When I realized they weren't coming back to set, I whisked them in an incubator and now have 14 baby chicks to raise. Here's a vacationeer's child having a little fun with the chicks. Soooo cute!

Looking Glass Falls - a short drive!

2008-05-29T17:28:00.003-04:00

Here's renter, Alex, at Looking Glass Falls who sent me this picture. You take a 45 minute delightful tour south on the Blue Ridge Parkway (entrance just 8 miles from Cloud 9 through the Pisgah National Forest to this exit to U.S. 276 near Brevard.

Looking Glass Falls is one of the most popular falls in Western North Carolina. The name "Looking Glass" comes from Looking Glass Rock, where water freezes on its sides in the winter and then glistens in the sunlight like a mirror or looking glass. It's right off the road. Take a picnic.

Still in Bloom -the Precious Lady's Slippers

2008-05-25T17:15:00.001-04:00

Walk the mountain trails on Cloud 9 properties and hunt for the rare Lady's Slippers. This is my favorite time of year to find these gems in the shaded woods!

Bluerry Patch-Ready for Inspection

2008-05-22T22:33:00.004-04:00

Dear Dad,
I haven't seen you in a while so I thought I'd take a photo of how great the blueberry patch looks...all weeded, newly mulched plants in their prime loaded with green berries this May, newly planted 2 year old plants on the upper rows, everything mowed...just the way you'd like it. I love working outside just as you did for something to do in retirement. I will admit it is a little more work than I anticipated but rewarding. It sure gives you a lot of time to think when you're out there with nature and the few cars that pass by on this country road. I hope to restore the patch to its glory days of the mid 1970s when you and Mom were known by everyone around as the place to pick blueberries.
Thinking of you,
Janet
NOTE: Dad died in 2001 at the age of 93. He didn't turn it over to my care until he was 88 and the thorns and trees that had grown up in the patch have taken me 12 years to tame. I think I've finally done it and wanted to tell him as the blueberry patch was and is a favorite place on the farm.

Festival of Flowers-Save the Date '09

2008-05-15T16:55:00.002-04:00

Plan ahead and save these dates for next year;
April 4–May 17, 2009

Biltmore's gardens, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, are alive with color as spring arrives. Enjoy special events and the beauty of tulips, azaleas, and countless other flowers during Festival of Flowers. Every vacation renter that stayed at Cloud 9 and Heavenly Hideaway Cabin spent the day at the Biltmore Estate to see the gardens in '08 and were so glad they did.

The Motorcycles are Here!

2008-05-13T08:00:00.001-04:00

An internet group of well-behaved Maximum Suzuki motorcyclers meet here every year. The outside workshop, known as the garage, becomes a smorgasboard of colorful helmets, gear and motorcycles in all colors. This year they gifted a waterproof map of their favorite trails which include the Deal’s Gap Tail of the Dragon (318 turns in 11 miles of scenic and twisty US 129 over the mountains of Tennessee into North Carolina which makes for a 300 mile day ) and over Hickory Nut Gap to Lake Lure for a before breakfast breather. Then they talk motorcycles into the night around the campfire pit here at Cloud 9.

Yay! The Tulip Poplar Blooms

2008-05-10T14:27:00.002-04:00

It’s pretty exciting to be a bee keeper in WNC this time of year. The beautiful yellow, orange and green bloom of the tulip (yellow) poplar tree drips with nectar (don’t park your car under one in May) and is the major nectar source for honey here along with the locust (tree not cicada insects) and the blackberry blooms. The honey bees zoom industriously back and forth out of their hive to every bloom in a 2 mile radius doing the waggle dance inside the hive to tell the others exactly where the best nectar is. Last year, the freeze devastated the blooms and the year before a terrific wind storm knocked them off in their prime so for now, bee keepers like me say…Yay! The tulip poplar blooms!

PS The beehives are a little over a half mile away from Cloud 9 and Heavenly Hideaway cabin so have no fear if you don’t like honey bees. They are not aggressive unless you’re a bear. Upon renter request, I’ll take you in the hives, with full protective gear, of course.

Come Kick a Rock

2008-05-09T09:08:00.002-04:00

Dirt roads, almost as rare as hen's teeth in Fairview, NC as developers demand ameneties for prospective buyers. My favorite winding backroad to town got paved a few years ago. Sure, less dust and easier on the car but it was the road I always took out-of-town guests on the way back from the airport. "We live way back in the hills," I would boast as they gripped the dashboard around the hairpin turns. The next day, they would find out we are really just 4/10 mile from the paved road that leads to town just 15 minutes away. Tee-hee!

But Cloud 9 properties stretch on both sides of this country road. Cows on one side, pasture and woods on the other and follow the gravel drive to the top of the hill where you have the view (and no dust).

Come, kick a rock, take a walk, stop and see images in the clouds, watch the cows grazing, go back in time to simpler ways ...all here.

Giant Black Widow

2008-05-04T10:15:00.003-04:00

Asheville has lots of fun places to explore. One of them is the Arboretum off the Blue Ridge Parkway. This traveling exhibit is called Dr. Entomo's Palace of Exotic Wonders and since I had never seen a real live glow-in-the-dark scorpion or been in an artrium filled with hatching monarchs, I went. Here I am almost being eaten by the giant pvc pipe, paper mache black widow!

Caffeine

2008-05-04T09:48:00.001-04:00

For those of you that are addicted, let me introduce you to Drinking Beans Coffee Shop otherwise known as Drinkin' Beans or DN BZ as the closest place to get snap-you-awake java. My former 4th grade student, Zach, (pictured here) created this space a year ago. I'm so proud of him. It's a relaxing place, half way to Asheville, full of great artwork and newspapers to read with outside seating, too, looking at the mountains. For the coffee connoisseur, Zach has freshly roasted coffee from the main coffee growing regions just an 7 minute drive away. You might not get the hug I got from him, but DN BZ will welcome you!

That Darned Old Tree

2008-05-02T09:24:00.000-04:00

All fall and winter I curse that crab apple tree in the pasture. It's prickly limbs that fall off or have to be trimmed give injuries even to my gloved hands everytime. But now...in the spring...full glorious blossoms (double blossoms this year to make up for the freeze of '07) in pinkish white that make the valley come alive with happy honeybees and happy cows that like the shade and use those prickly low hanging branches to scratch that itch! I sing praises now to that "darned old tree."

In Love with Self

2008-04-29T22:14:00.004-04:00

Enjoying his reflection in the sliding glass window on the deck, this robin red breast hops back and forth on the deck for long blocks of time. And it doesn't seem to matter if people are here! At first I marveled at nature's ways but now, after cleaning up the deck for the umpteenth time, I enlisted the help of a sympathetic renter to erect chicken wire deterrents. It worked! Except now he's found the brass kick plates on the front door!

Upon reading up on robins, it's actually territory that he's defending from those invasive, ever-present, mean reflections. I'll be glad when mating season is over.

Blueberries are in Bloom

2008-04-26T16:00:00.001-04:00

We can let our breath out now that the danger of frost hurting the delicate, pink and white blueberry blooms is over. Last year in April '07 the 4 day freeze wiped out 98% of the crop so this year's double bloom brings new hope for a bumper crop of those sweet tasting, grape-size delights of blue heaven. If you book Cloud 9 or Heavenly Hideaway cabin in July you'll get to pick your breakfast every morning in my 2 acre field of blueberries on my U-Pick farm. The blueberries are ripe from the last week of June through the end of July. Yummm! right now it's my favorite place to be weeding because the blueberry perfume wafts through the air calling in the pollinators including my honeybee girls from their hive in the next pasture.

It's a Dogwood Time of Year

2008-04-17T08:36:00.001-04:00

Remember this time of year, mid April to mid May if you'd like to take a vacation and see the glorious wild dogwood bloom. The white blossoms spread out like sheets through a wood's view amongst the new green leaves coming out of their buds in many shades of green. I've never seen a honeybee on dogwood blossom so they don't have much nectar. Botany fact: the white petals are really a variation of the leaves whereas the yellow centers are individual flowers.

Free Ranging Chickens

2008-04-01T21:41:00.003-04:00

When the danger of the (Cooper and Red tailed) hawk's regular feeding time is over (mid day) the "girls" (and 3 boys) are let loose the last couple hours of the day to free range. Here is the beautiful Golden Comet rooster, "Goldy," staying out of the way of the alpha rooster, "Ooleroo" by hiding behind the daffodils.

The Head Fell Off

2008-03-26T21:19:00.000-04:00

On the 2oo acres of Cloud 9 Rentals, there are many places of interest, tiki heads to mask tree stumps and stone works all from the property. One that you see in the valley is the Phoenix, sitting on the edge of the woods. You have to look closely to see the rock legs and the graduated in size, flat rocks showing feathers of the body. (The large top "wing" rock is the expensive bought one to complete the scupture's magnificance). I noticed something different about it the other day when driving by...it's head was missing. The head...the many days of searching all the "bone piles" at rock places to find this 'specially shaped rock with a nature-formed beak in profile. How could I not notice it? What makes a 100 pound rock (I'm guessing) fall off? Oh, I forgot to tell you, it is precariously balanced and wedged with smaller shims of rocks so a wind could have done it. so it took two people to right the head and we'll see how long it lasts.

...the phoenix rises from the ashes into new life as this farm is reborn with new vision to share with you...

Happy Spring from Cloud 9 and Heavenly Hideaway!

2008-03-23T23:41:00.006-04:00

This is an exciting time of year at Cloud 9 and Heavenly Hideaway when the valley fields turn from brownish to bright green and the cows (herd of 11) start to ignore the last of the hay bales and turn to munching on the succulent new growth. The daffodils, forsythia and lady's slippers are at their peak making for yellow and pink on green my favorite colors.

It is also time for the farmer (me, but sounds like a reason for a ‘work party’ of friends) to impregnate oak logs with shitake spores for growth for the next 2 to 5 years. I take 4 foot culls of forester-prescribed 6 inch oak tree thinnings, drill holes 6 inches apart, insert the shitake spores (mmm, yum, Italian marinated whole shitakes on the spit, what’a meal), and seal them with beeswax.

When you come to the farm, you’ll get a tour OR if you’re like the Good Family and the Signorino Family you can learn the skill yourself and have a photos to take home to prove it! Thanks for pitching in, you willing renters! It was fun for all! Come again next year for the harvest!

Janet