Ho Ho Ho!

Merry Christmas!

We're babysitting our two grandfurballs, who believe Santa wears orange pants.

Maggie (left) and Mae

And maybe he does....

And then there's the resident Grinch:

Sami

May you be blessed with family, friends, peace, joy, and appreciation now and in the new year... in which we hope to see you!

Black Squirrel Winter Special!

Yee haw - looks like we're in for another action-packed black squirrel winter, according to Joe Mullis down at the Parker Tie.

See any black squirrels???

We've already had four snow shower episodes since October (yikes), so in hopes that we can survive another eventful winter, we're firing up the winter special already!

From now thru March 31, 2012, rates are $75/night (plus tax).

BUT WAIT - THERE'S MORE!

Reserve two nights and get each subsequent night for just $50 (plus tax).

And the black squirrels don't even have to actually appear in order for you to take advantage of this fantastic offer! But if they do, you just might see one with the new backyard light:

So call or email to make arrangements to head to Angel Mountain. You'll be glad you did!

In any event, happy, blessed Thanksgiving... with or without black squirrels :)

Brain, Brain... Where Did You Say You Went?

I forgot to post some of the colors around here for those who missed them!

Sheesh.

October, October... Oh, Where Did You Go?

I know October is still in progress (Mac tells me so), but still.... Where did the rest of it go???

This month we've had mostly spectacular weather mixed with a couple of snow showers, and with plunging temps at night, flannel sheets are on the cabin bed!

Exciting happenings have been primarily on the football field (tho not necessarily in a good way), but we did have a surprise guest:



I put the camera down and played cowgirl, heading this furball out to the front yard... where I was promptly greeted by her bull-mate wannabe. That called for a slightly different MO, like, calling for their two-legged daddy. I needed to leave but stuck around until he showed up with a partner. I wish I could have stayed, as the mountainbilly reality show looked promising in the entertainment department.

What else? Seriously, my brain has been stuffed into so much pigskin these past few months, I'm hoping I can dig it out soon after our fiasco, er, season, ends Friday.

It's been great to see some you at Angel Mountain, and we hope to see others of you soon!

Happy October!

Summer. Going, Going...

Summer may not be ready to pass the baton to Fall for a few more hours, but Fall's been revvin' up and gettin' slimy.

Can't say I'm thrilled about the slimy stuff, but the mushroom surprises have been so much fun this year!

And the summer treasures that are slowly fading are still pretty spectacular.

I. LOVE. FALL.

Poof!

That's what happened to July and August and my brain.

Let's just say that football has kept us hopping in überfast-forward the past few months.

I have managed to come up for air a few times, though. Here are a few reminders of what's happening around here when I have a chance to see what's happening around here:

Happy end of summer and arrival of FALL and the beginning of changing colors. The weather is gorgeous and perfect for sleeping whenever we can get it....

Slightly exhausted mountainbilly coach

Hope to see you at Angel Mountain!

PS - For more pictures and other fascinating scoop, be sure to visit Angel Mountain Cabin! You can 'like' us on Facebook, too :)

Anyone Seen June?

I'm sure it's been here the whole time, but I apparently blinked.

Oh, yeah, and then there was this:

Katie and her daddy, getting ready to hand her over. Sorta.

(Amy Lust, Photographer)

Katie and her husband! (FYI, his name is Paul, and we're crazy about him!)

(from photo by Katie's cousin, Bethany)

The big day took place on Kiawah Island last Tuesday, in between Paul's grad classes (seriously - he turned in work on Monday, got married on Tuesday, and presented his final project on Wednesday). Paul's dad forced us out-of-towners to stay in fantastic houses, one on the beach and one on a lagoon... with alligators!

(courtesy of brother Paul)

It was rough (cough, cough).

Alas, the return to the real world came in spite of our wishes, and I don't mean a return to the cool mountains, either. I mean a return to the hot field house for grunge duty. Yippee.

Oh, well, I'm enjoying pictures, and brother Paul (not to be confused with groom Paul) had a brilliant idea of hanging a camera around the neck of the officiant, groom Paul's best friend. You can see the critter cam here and a composite video of the critter cam and his daughter Bethany's video here. Fun, fun, fun!

* * * * *

And then there's this:

This sweetie showed up on our doorstep as we were in high pre-wedding mode, her bones begging for food and a bit of TLC. She's getting both, of course, from all but Sami, who has mastered hissing and introduced her 'cougar' act to our cabineers here in our wedding absence. Sami's 13 and not ready to relinquish her spot as House Cat, reminding everyone in her path on a regular basis.

Yep, back to the real world.

I learned the cat came from a neighbor's girlfriend whose dad said NO WAY to keeping a cat, so the neighbor said, "We'll take it," and then their black cat terrorized the daddy-said-no cat, and she/he was forced to find safety on our porch. Meet The Suckers.

I'm trying to learn if said sweetie is available for adoption and will report....

Hope everyone's staying cool! If not, you know where to come :)

You do know where to come, don't you?

More May!

I should be fixing dinner.

Okay, off to heat up those leftovers. Move over, Martha....

May!

A few years ago, we were blessed with temps in the mid teens for three nights during the early days of May. Needless to say, I'd already splurged on hanging baskets and plants for the flower bed. Oops.

No matter, it's MAY again, and that always feels good.

Things have been hopping around here! We've been clearing brush by the ponds, no doubt stunned by the sudden attention. As almost everything possessed a healthy supply of thorns, it's been fun.

Ha.

And we've been burning the fruits of our labors. Literally. Some day we may finish....

Proof of spring:

Oh, wait. This was in Charleston, SC, when we visited Favorite Daughter Katie...

On a completely unrelated note, there is now a CD player in the cabin!

And on a sorta related note to that, the Blue Ridge Dinner Theater opens its doors (at the site of the former Mountain Music Jamboree) on May 21! The web site is still under construction, but the dinner theater looks promising as another fantastic reason to come to Ashe. Hint, hint :)

Happy May to all....

Water, Water Everywhere...

... on the blinds of the closed windows in the living room, on the ceiling, and I may as well have had a bucket of water rigged on the inside of the front door.

Hmmm... I wondered what Sami was up to during the night.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

So while there are no pretty spring flowers to post, there is lots of water!

We should be outta the drought-we're-always-supposed-to-be-in now. Surely.