"POP" Go the Daffodils!

Tuesday, March 6 was the day we saw our first daffodil on the grounds here. It still seems a bit soon since we had such a strange (but welcome) winter. It's time to cut back all the ornamental grasses, some of which are nearly 8 feet tall! They really looked pretty over the winter and with little snow, none of them were flattened down and continue to stand tall with their dried plumes. Our fish are a bit confused too. They're ahead of schedule as well, and have been looking for food for a few weeks now. But they must wait until the water temp is above 50. Surely they noticed that the pond never froze this winter either. I'm looking forward to getting outside to start working in the soil. As of Saturday, there is a little starter flat of heirloom Chocolate Cherry Tomatoes in the kitchen. I'm anxiously anticipating germination. I hope they do well this year. I'll let you know Jules. :0)

Come visit in March. 
We'll celebrate St Patty's Day. 

Loving a Mild Midwest Winter!

February 1st, 2011

From the 18 inches of snow of a year ago, to a winter worthy of "Mild" status, we are grateful for exceptional winter weather. That being said, it will be interesting to see what happens to our flowers which have been fooled into an early Spring, but I'm sure they will do just fine. I must say that we have never seen the Surprise Lilies pop up in FEBRUARY! The leaves are 6 inches tall. The good thing is that those leaves will die back and then the "Naked Lady" flowers pop up in August. Now if we can make it through the next 4 weeks with no extended hard freezing, those Spring emerging flowers will survive nicely. Having been blessed with warmer temps than usual, the Koi pond has not frozen over once this season. The Koi and Goldfish are a bit confused, and come to the surface constantly to see if it is time to EAT. But they too will be just fine with all this warm winter weather, and will be fed when the pond temp gets back to a stable 55 degrees.


As usual, this has been a busy winter inside. We've been cleaning closets and working on room projects to make some typical improvements. Each winter we keep ourselves busy with such fun... It feels good to purge the closets and basement of things that are not needed here, but could be useful to others. We've donated a lot to Good Will, and have passed along some collectibles to others. We are listing things on eBay too. What a great venue to sell and buy, :0)!


Make your plans for summer early. Come see why Reagan's Queen Anne is Top Rated! We're anticipating a very busy summer season in 2012. Here's the link for convenience. Check Availability and BOOK YOUR STAY!

Beautiful Autumn..."Warm" Beginning to Winter

Reagan's Queen Anne Bed and Breakfast, Hannibal, Missouri

This 2011 photo of our two sugar maples in late in October, is a magnificent display of nature's artwork. When all other trees on our street were nearly or completely bare, we still had this beautiful array of color at the front door of our home. These maples are stunning and really look so nice against the paint scheme sported by this Victorian queen. If you are one who enjoys the colors of autumn, be sure to bookmark our website to go back to occasionally, or to see updates next summer and early autumn. We always let folks know what stages to expect of the metamorphosis, which occurs in our regional forests and the local trees noted for "showing off" the wonderful artist's palate of the colors of fall.

We'd like to thank all those who visited this year! Thanks to our wonderful guests, 2011 was another good year. Though we would love to have outstanding occupancy every year, matching 2010 and the two top years preceding that, we knew that eclipsing that would be a challenge in this unstable economy. As we've done since we opened our business, we try to help out by offering lower rates on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. We certainly filled rooms a lot during those days this year. So, for all those who will choose to cross the threshold of this beautiful vintage lady called Reagan's Queen Anne, we look forward to meeting you. To all of our wonderful repeat guests, we always look forward to your next booking. We love to hear from our guests, "We feel like we've been friends forever, and are as comfortable as can be in your company." We're looking forward to a great 2012 and providing a cozy, comfy respite for you all in the not-too-distant future! To all of our repeat guests who are participating in our Frequent Stay Program, remember that credit is recorded when you send others too. Just tell your friends, family, co-workers, etc. to let us know that you referred them to us. 

Christmas has passed for yet another year, and this year it was not "White". Time we spent with family helped us forget that Christmas and snow go together like peanut butter and jelly. We enjoyed the Avenue of Lights in Quincy, IL, went to the movie and had fun spending time with family. We're thankful that we have seen only a couple dustings of snow thus far this winter. Our local weather is unseasonably warm for December/January and we are loving it! Now that being said, we do hope for some colder weather to hang around for a bit this month so that our Mississippi River Flyway Eagles will once again dot the skies and trees near the riverbanks with their magnificence. There is a local pair which lives here year round, but local numbers reach into the hundreds of eagles when the river freezes during winter. Check our website for more about our Bald and Golden Eagle visitors by clicking the following: Eagle Visitors near Hannibal

American Bald Eagle

We are working on a few projects, as we do each winter. Our third floor suite will soon have a shower to compliment the clawfoot tub. We'll be doing some interior painting and hauling some things to auction, from closets upon closets full of antiques and collectibles. Rather than keep them packed away, these things need to be enjoyed by others.           

Happy New Year!! Let's hope for an economic recovery that will benefit us all. Blessings, Hope for the Future, and Well Wishes to you and yours. Norm and Judy

Time to decorate with PUMPKINS AND MUMS!!

It is hard to believe that it is late September. I feel like I'm on a fast train. How can life whiz by any faster?? This is a good time to take a deep breath and be thankful for all the blessings in our lives. Slow down, watch the leaves change and feel the weather cool. I'm also a bit saddened that we have just 2 of our little hummingbirds still hanging around. The twenty-two counterparts have flown the coop and are probably in TX by now. Geeeeeeeeeeeesh...it seems like they just got here. We prepare our own nectar, and used over 40 pounds of sugar this year. The birds arrived about 3 weeks later than usual, but they were fighting with a vengeance, male and female alike. It was strange to see them be so intent upon guarding the 10-13 feeders we put out this summer. I will miss the little jewels until next April/May.

Today I dug out the Autumn decorations. I'll be working on the inside tomorrow. Then it's time to buy some mums for outside. I found some Stella D'oro daylilies at 50% off today, so I'll get those and some tulips planted soon. I'll definitely need to spray myself down with skeeter repellent though...they are wicked right now!!

The year has been GREAT!! We've been fortunate to have a busy year. That allowed us to schedule a few days off for some innkeeper R&R, and visit with Illinois family as well as travel to Florida to be with Tim and his family this month. We definitely feel blessed. Kaylie was here with us for a week too, and she was such a big help with guests! We thoroughly enjoyed having our little innkeeper's assistant here with us.

So, our local trees are beginning to show the effects of the end of summer and beginning of autumn. Some trees have begun to transform. I always look forward to the gorgeous colors of the season. The remainder of September is nearly full, but we do have availability on the 29th & 30th. The Mississippi River Valley puts on a magnificent display of colors in October, so don't delay booking your stay! October is filling FAST! We have just one room open for the Fall Folk Life Festival 10/15-17, and there are more openings near the end of the month. Just click here for access to our calendar: http://www.webervations.com/magic-scripts/resbook.asp.

We hope to see you in the next few weeks. Come enjoy Autumn in Hannibal...