WOW!! Where does the time go? It feels like a year since I've posted to the blog! Three months is a long time. So to update:
July and Tom Sawyer Days were great. In spite of massive amounts of water in the Mississippi, flood gates being in place, levees being closed to spectator traffic, and gas prices being utterly ridiculous, our July was excellent! We've only had one better. We survived the media spinning of flooding here, and are thankful for the brave and adventurous guests who crossed our threshold and stayed with us. We thank you and hope to see you again in the future. Another great thing about July was the emergence of our young hummingbirds. We counted at least 18 this year and they were as entertaining as ever.
August was our best in nine years. A GREAT BIG THANK YOU to all who chose us as their lodging while visiting our quaint little village. We worked really hard keeping up with cleaning, maintenance, and keeping flowers in a growth sequence in July & August. Impatiens and our tropical hibiscus have loved this weather. We didn't have great luck with certain other flowers this year. In spite of not having any saucers under pots (or needing any), the potted geraniums, petunias and superbells(mini petunias), just didn't like being unable to dry out at all in June, July & August. Some pots planted at the same time as others look sick, while others are still blooming nicely. It was a strange summer of buckets and buckets of rain. June and July were totally wet and only once in late August, was there a 5 day period without rain. The weather was cooler too. Don't get me wrong, I love not having scorching heat in July and August, but not having the heat also contributed to root rot in planters and mold growing on the clapboard of the house like never before. Yes, we saved water by not having to drench the plants, but made up for that savings when we had to clean and powerwash the house and porch ceiling twice! That's unheard of. Normally the powerwashing lasts for at least a year or TWO. We've also been doing some painting outside, since we once again are struggling to find an exterior painter. Oh, and we are about to get some roofing work done after having hail damage in May. No rest for the weary...
September is history, and it too has been a great month. It's in our top 4 in 9 years, and that included a nice little R&R mini vacation for Norm & me. We planned the trip in August and thoroughly enjoyed 4 days away from our daily work load. Norm even arranged for me to go FISHING!! I caught five, which is a bit of a small catch consdering my past history of the sport. But it was so much fun!! We rented a boat for the morning and had a blast on a beautiful mountain lake full of all the right kinds of fish. Getting used to my Shimano Baitcaster was a trip. But eventually I was back to form. A few "birdnests" and "short casts" later, and I was smooth as silk with a long cast and no backlash. I think Norm was amazed that I could drop the lure into a one foot target with tree limbs, stickups and rocks as obstacles. I caught 2 largemouth bass, a smallmouth bass, & 2 bluegill, one of which was huge!! Boy, a boat load of those would have produced quite the fish fry! Maybe we can return there someday for some lunker smallmouth and walleye fishing. Y-U-M-M-O, walleye my favorite to munch on! They also grow giant striper bass in that lake. Just the scenery was enjoyable, but catching my first fish since 1996 was a real treat. The cottages where we stayed, treated us to herds of Whitetail Deer, Silver fox, Hummingbirds, Indigo Buntings, Finches, Pileated Woodpeckers, Flickers, Blue Jays, Warblers, Wrens and various others. It was so relaxing and enjoyable. Our guests helped to make that trip possible and we thank you for assisting in our Rest and Recouperation so we'd be ready to hit the bricks hard in October.
Our leaves are beginning to show color. So if you're a "Leaf Peeper", give us a call or click on the link to make your reservation for our annually Superb Mississippi River Valley Autumn Colors. They are amazing. We have some openings early and late in October...2 middle weekends are full. Weekdays are always discounted, and we have some great availability then if you are able to travel between the weekends. Check our website for photos too. To Reserve...click here: http://www.webervations.com/magic-scripts/resbook.asp?memberid=jreagan722
We look forward to meeting you, and hosting our repeat guests once again. Happy Autumn!!
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