Friday, May 23, 2008

The opening of the inn for 2008

The magic of it all continues. The lilacs opened just as the inn did. Beautiful, fragrant, and purple, they are a full week earlier than most around here. Every day I wonder around the garden to see what's come up and marvel at it all.

Lupines are just beginning to flower in the warmest spots, on schedule for the lupine festival, June 20-22, on Deer Isle.

We've had guests in from England--Wayne, Sally, Kerry, and Jazz; Italy; and Canada, as well as Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, Massachusetts, and even Maine. As I tell my Wisconsin guests, go visit my brother's place in Cassville, WI, Whitetail Bluff Camp and Resort, and tell him his sister sent you and said to put your drink on her tab.

Barbara and Bridget, up from Natchez, Mississippi, needed a ride into Stonington so I offered to take them and, shucks, I ended up kayaking with them at Old Quarry Ocean Adventures. We had a perfect Maine day to be out on the water. We toured around Camp Island, Devil's Half Acre--where we stopped for lunch and met some clammers--and Grog Island. We saw bald eagles and a baby eagle in a big nest, double-crested cormorants, and black guillemots. We saw at least one rock full of sunning seals. So often a bobbing seal turns out to be a buoy instead. Rj Miller and Linda Miller kayaked with us. He's a photographer and she's an amazing paddler who, from the bow, kept their tandem kayak still and in a good position while he snapped shots. We--our guide, Brigid, the Mississippi gals, and I--got to be kayaking models. Those of us in wetsuits were happy to have skirts on. The Millers are from Wisconsin so I got a nice fill of the Midwest accent and conversation with people who know what delight a fried cheesecurd is (is putting pictures of fried cheese on your blog a silly thing to do? They aren't very photogenic, are they?).

The eggs in the nest by the Cape House door hatched! I've seen at least one little fuzzy head. I thought I'd give them all a few days and then try to sneak a photo with a zoom lens and a step ladder. Recent guests left me the nicest note: "This is one of the most charming cottages we've ever stayed in--complete with a nesting bird at the entryway!"

I can't believe I haven't told you this yet! All last summer guests would ask about the safe in the main parlor and I would say it didn't open and hadn't been opened in years and the combination was lost and we needed Geraldo to help us. Then! Matt, the grandson of the previous owners, Don and Mary Hartley, came back to work and mentioned that he knew the combination! I actually jumped up and down I was so excited. It turns out that Don had kept the combination in his wallet, which got picked one year. Fortunately for us, Matt had memorized the combination long before then when he was just a kid. We're going to keep our extra secret recipes in there.

We have so many sweet spots to enjoy in the garden. On a warm day it's the perfect place to bring iced tea and a cookie. Yesterday they were the browned sugar cookies, which used to be my favorite treat. Now Matt's been making tiny tarts--this week with fresh strawberries. And guests are loving the crabmeat quiche...

Monday, May 19, 2008

The local land trusts

I tell all our guests to visit Barred Island (shown here), Blue Hill Mountain, the Tennis Preserve, Caterpillar Hill, the Good Life Center, Settlement Quarry. What do all these places have in common? Island Heritage Trust, on Deer Isle, or the Blue Hill Heritage Trust have helped protect them in some way. These organizations are dedicated to conserving land that makes this area what it is, places that are "essential to the character" of Downeast Maine.

The Blue Hill Inn is offering guests a deal--when you visit us, from June 1-June 20, and take part in the Land Trust Special, room rates are $125 a night, with $25 going to the local land trusts. Plus, the inn will match the donation so Island Heritage Trust and the Blue Hill Heritage Trust will receive twice the donations. We'll give you directions to our favorite spots and we'll all feel better knowing we've done our part to help protect them. Call us to make your reservation or for more details.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

The inn opens May 21!

Two eggs! Shannon, of Mountain View Painting, reported seeing two eggs in the nest at the Cape House. He has been very busy making the inn look fabulous--shutters are up, clapboards are washed and painted--the inn looks great. Tomorrow he'll be painting the front doors red. Spring is looking mighty good at the inn. This photo is looking out from the Cape House living room area onto the private deck, draped in willow tree.

One of the trees in the orchard is already flowering--I'm eager to see what type of apple this early bloomer produces. July will be my first full year as innkeeper here at the Blue Hill Inn so I'm still getting to know the yard.

The lovely hosts at the Hartstone Inn, Mary Jo Brink and Michael Salmon, invited innkeepers from around the area for a party. Michael is an amazing chef--we had a dinner of hors d'oeuvres, my favorite. You know someone special is in the kitchen when guests are raving about the grilled vegetables, not to mention the Thai beef salad, the chicken satay, the potstickers... For dessert, I had to try his truffles with pistachio nuts. If you're stopping in Camden on your way to Blue Hill, consider stopping off at the Hartstone, if just for a meal.

New assistant innkeepers and I took a field trip to Deer Isle to see Nervous Nellie's Jams and Jellies and to pick up some jam for the inn. What a fabulous playground of amazing sculpture (by husband Peter Beerits) all over the property. And the jams! You can try a wide selection on crackers or get a scone in the little, very colorful cafe, and enjoy it with lots of jam.

Do you remember the fabulous bread we have for morning toast? It’s from Blue Hill Hearth, Kathy’s bakery that shares space with the North Light Book Store about two blocks from here. Guests would sometimes happen in for one of her sandwiches or great pizza slices--or a decadent dessert--and Kathy would discover they were staying at the inn and send home the bread order with them! I saw Kathy at the grocery recently and we got talking about Earth Day. Turns out she and her husband have had solar panels for over 12 years.

I just started Man Bites Log, by Max Alexander. My favorite line so far describes a real Mainer: “They speak slowly but are hard to understand, and drive slower but are impossible to pass.” He lives in an area with many fewer curves—it’s the come-from-aways who dawdle around here, or maybe it’s just me.

Head-of-the-kitchen Matt has been busy preparing for our open house on Tuesday. Chocolate covered orange peel, red pepper tarts with feta and scallion, mini carrotcake cupcakes... Wish you were here.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Plenty of Live Music

I’m always wishing you were here to be a part of all the great and crazy things the inn and Blue Hill have to offer. This weekend is the 18th Annual Pan New England Steelband Festival—there are pan players everywhere and I went out last night to dance to Steel Sensation. Today bands from all over New England play a range of music in a five-hour panorama concert. All summer long, our local pan band plays benefit concerts and street dances.

On the way home I stopped in at the monthly contra dance—who was filling in but Gary Bushee, an old friend who helped out at the inn last summer. Perhaps you had the singing waiter if you came to the Blue Hill Inn last fall.

I didn’t admit just how long I left the Christmas wreathes up. I did remove the red parts, telling myself that that made them just decorative wreathes, but eventually down they came. I hate that bare look and had been keeping an eye out for something nice to put in their places, especially at the Cape House. I recently found a lovely wreath made of twigs at Silkweeds in Searsport. Apparently a pair of birds find it lovely as well. At first I thought the mess of broken twigs beneath the wreath was from a bird pulling out bits for its nest—this morning I realized the wreath was home to the nest. It’s the first time I’ve wished there were fewer guests coming to the Cape House! I hope the happy couple either like the idea of living in a lively place or decide to relocate to a nearby tree. The irony of May being our benefit for Habitat for Humanity wasn’t lost on me either.

The magnolia is still looking so pretty. The willow overhanging the Cape House deck is leafing out as are most of the bushes around the yard. The tulips are plump but not blooming yet. In the herb garden, Jean, the handywoman (who is just back from a winter gardening in Hawaii!), unburied the mint and lavendar. She and I have big fruity dreams—raspberry bushes, blueberry bushes, a peach tree. I do need to confess that, though I live in a low-bush blueberry state, I prefer, dare I say it, the high bush variety. In my defense, high-bush berries are much easier to pick—you don’t have to bend over and rake them like the lowbush. They can be huge—big as a quarter—and they’re sweet. Give me a year or two and we can have taste tests and you can see which you prefer. What I do like better about the Maine blueberries is the gorgeous color in the fall. Scarlet blueberry barrens… Photographer Terrell Lester does a great job catching those.

Now I’m off to breakfast at Chase’s Daily in Belfast.