I am growing to love photography and our bird feeder right out the living room window gives me some pretty remarkable sights for taking photos, especially on these a cold days!  All I have to do is feed the birds and they entertain me by visiting.  It seems that I always seem to get the same birds!  I learned today (in Moneta Garden Club) that the birds I feed are seed-eaters and the ones I am missing are worm eaters or bug eaters, probably foraging in the trees.

I realize that I have spent a great deal of my life learning about things other than wildlife, but I just didn’t realize that there are over 10,000 species of birds and that we only have about 973 of them in the  United States.

I loved observing the ravens when we visited Yellowstone a few years ago.

and I even liked the cute budgies at the natural habitats at Natural Bridge zoo,

but also I have gotten to know the birds right out my window!

I realize that these wild birds are quite different from my domestic chickens, but they are birds still!

(An aside) I am proud to report that our chickens are laying this winter.  Upon the advice of friends with chickens and chicken books, I extended their day light by about 4 hours with a lamp on a timer in their hen house!

But wrapping up my little flighty blog on birds, here are your fun facts about birds…

• When it comes to birds, the males have the more colorful feathers, songs and dances.  That’s how they show off for the females.
• The smallest bird egg is a hummingbird’s; about the size of a pea.
• The common phrase “eat like a bird” should mean something quite different.  Many birds eat twice their weight in food each day.  I can attest to that with an empty feeder each day!
• Chickens have over 200 distinct noises they make for communicating…but enough about chickens!

Go watch the birds!

 

 

 

 

For five full years, we have kept journals in the guest rooms. They are there as an option for guests to share their likes and dislikes about their stay in our B & B. It is hard to read them on a day-to-day basis, so after five years of guest journal notes, I decided to put my qualitative analysis skills to the test and see if there were trends in the open-ended comments.

There were 210 journal entries representing approximately 654 people. Most (163 entries) came from the journal in the Fourth Room, which is our largest and most expensive room. The second greatest numbers of comments were found in the Fishing Room journal, which is considered our smallest (but often referred to as “cozy) room. We have had visitors from China, Canada, France, Italy, England and points far and near. Some are here for vacations while others are just passing through as they travel north or south.

Most of the comments were simply saying “thank-you for opening your home.” The words used to describe their experience at Bedford Landing were positive and varied but the most used word was “beautiful” (55 times). Many indicated that they wish their stay would have been longer (17) and nearly everyone said they would refer others to stay with and that certainly they would return for a visit in the future.

Guests described the feel and structure of the house:

• Delightful, charming, great ambience, unique exceptional, 5-star (29)
• Relaxing, quiet, peaceful, a respite, great get-away, felt pampered, I am recharged, great escape (27)
• Comfortable, feel at home, comfy beds (24)
• Amazing, remarkable (21)
• Romantic, breathtaking, wonderful, magnificent, fabulous, superb, (18)
• Great attention to detail and room décor (12)

Aspects of the house that were mentioned in a positive light included the hot tub (8), the theatre room and movie selection (4), the comfy beds and sheets (4). It was interesting how many people mentioned our previous dog Kramer (RIP) and current dog, Bella (16). One person said the house was “clean and fresh” and at least four people mentioned our fortunate we are to have a housekeeper like Patty.

Regarding the breakfast, all comments were positive with the exception of one person who had stayed a full week for a family reunion close by. The comment was “there was a little too much food but we love that there is a cookie platter out all day long!” We were a bit perplexed by this comment!

Mostly the comments were that breakfast included:

• A delicious, divine, yummy, or incredible breakfast (48)
• The bacon was out of this world (7)
• The French toast was scrumptious (6)
• Loved the truffles in the room (5)
• Awesome biscuits (3)
• Very filling breakfast, plenty to eat (2)

Describing their experience, words used were:

• Memorable, an adventure (10)
• Perfect, would not change a thing, lovely stay (6)
• Appreciated the extra attention, appreciate the attention to my dietary needs (4)

About the innkeepers/hosts Karen & Jack, words such as the following were used:

• Gracious and warm hosts, wonderful hospitality, felt welcome, perfect hosts, kindness, thanks for the maps and local information (67)
• So enjoyed the conversation with Karen & Jack (22)
• Made new friends (2)
• Enjoyed the hangar tour, loved flying over the lake (15)

Our favorite comments were that the B & B

• Exceeded our expectations
• I slept like a log
• Your house is an oasis
• This is truly a gem
• This is a slice of heaven
• You and Jack have boiled inn keeping down to a perfect science
• The breakfast was fit for a king and queen

What should we make of all of these delightful comments? Jack and I enjoy pampering people who appreciate it! Through trip advisor, we have a 5-star review track record and many of the comments in the journals are also reflected in the Trip Advisor, Google Business and Facebook reviews. We strive to maintain all five stars! Our motto is “comfort better than you will find at home.” Our job is to make our guests feel welcomed and pampered. We do have few additional insights into what this data seems to tell us.

First, it seems that the dog is a therapeutic touch, especially for those who have left their pet at home. We are not dog friendly in that we know that people who love their pets enough to want to travel with them want also to sleep with them so that policy will not change. Bella does not go to the guest room level on the second floor so there is no dog odor, nor dander on that level. She is a small non-shedding dog and that helps us keep our home pet odor-free.

Secondly, we often just “click” with our guests in terms of personality and tastes. Their overwhelmingly positive comments about the warmth and friendliness of Bedford Landings may come about because we enjoy what we are doing. We live on site and can be helpful if needed but we “read” our guests to try to determine the extent to which they want or need interaction and attention. We offer personal touches to attend to dietary needs as long as we know in advance. We find that people are grateful for attempting to meet their needs.

We work well together in the kitchen making this a team effort and people seem to appreciate that we both are present and interact with them asking about their lives and answering questions about our lives and our home. We have implemented many unique aspects to our business including a mouse hole, a bedtime story book, local artisans, a giant chessboard, sight seeing flights and more. People find these things charming and they add to their “get away” experience.

We have met many people who were just visiting the lake area who in time decided to buy a house and settle here. We often feel very must like ambassadors to the lake as we respond to questions about things to do, Internet, golf communities, how to rent property, distance from attractions, realtors to use, how to get a boating license, and more.

All in all we will continue to be innkeepers until we don’t want to do it any longer. As long as we enjoy sharing our home and have gracious guests, we will be here!

Introducing my third children’s book!  

I was so excited to join Jamison’s first grade class in Raleigh, NC at the number one Magnet School in the country (or so I was told) – AB Combs Elementary.  I was equally impressed with the children in their classroom’s attentiveness. But, (not that I am biased) I adored spending time with my grandson Jamison who is a main character in my new children’s book entitled “Taking Flight.” Illustrated by Julia Phillips, a local artist to Smith Mountain Lake, this story (as in all of my books) has an underlying message and this one is about eating well and fitness in children.  Head elf, Gordy grows too large to ft into his elf suit so Jamison has to help deliver the Christmas gifts with Santa.  Julia did a remarkable job of capturing the story with her renditions. Jack took some video footage of the day at the school that I edited together into a little story about the day. Each of our family members received a copy at Thanksgiving and there will be two book signings this weekend.

• November 30 in DT Moneta following the Christmas tree lighting) about 6:45 following the Lakeside Singers!
• December 1 at South County Library, 6303 Merriman Way in Roanoke (1-4 pm)

My other two books have a message as well.  Cloudy with a Chance of Dreams features Jaxon (our oldest grand son). The story is about having trouble paying attention in school and the way his mother managed this including some reinforcements flying in an airplane. The book featuring Destiny Jayda (our grand daughter) is entitled Fly me Home and is about a girl who is having trouble making friends at school. She is being raised by a single (pilot) father who determines one way to manage her feelings about change and school is home schooling while she travels with him in the airplane. 

Why the messages in the books and why the airplanes?

As a retired child development facility member, it’s just hard for me to NOT educate.  Books are a great way to entertain and spend close time with a child. Through the story, the child can imagine themselves in the role.  That in turn leads to conversations between parents or grandparents and children which can lead to solutions in their own lives.  And airplanes?  Jack is a pilot and we live on an airport. We sell these books in our Bed & Breakfast which is situated adjacent to the W91 airport. We need more young pilots in training of course so there is some airplane terminology also appearing in the books.

Lastly, this is our I have enjoyed not only honoring my grand children but to spend some of my retirement time.  This year, we are being blessed with so many new babies, however that I am considering the next book to be about a GROUP of children including all of those precious ones who have been born (and will be born) the last 2 years…Lyla, RJ, Zahra, Emma Grace, Eliana, and (due in February), Gabe. And just maybe nieces Kendall, Jaylyn, and Charlotte will have starring roles as well as our family continues to grow! Wow!

Ho, ho ho and Merry Christmas!!!

When folks at our breakfast table at Bedford Landings enter into a political discussion, we divert and redirect them the best we can so no one walks away with indigestion. Instead we want people to feel relaxed and not defensive, on edge, or challenged in a negative way while they are here. I am just glad we are getting an election break!

It has already been a beautiful fall!. The colors are brilliant and the sunsets are amazing!

We enjoyed the chili fest last weekend along with the fall festival at the Booker T. Washington National Park. We got not even one trick-or-treater at our door. But enjoyed dressing up nonetheless as Chick magnet (I know they are ducks but there were no chicks available!) and Fork-in-the-Road to make an appearance at a wonderful fall meal at my sister’s house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jack is ecstatic that his has been able to mount the engine on his RV-10 airplane building project. Now to wire it all up! 

He won’t get as much work done the rest of this week as he has gone to help our church mission team muck out houses in Beaufort, NC. Bella was none too happy to see him leave, marking her man with her paw in the photo!

In the meantime, I have completed my third children’s book. Jamison is the featured grand child and he will be the first to get a copy when I go to his first grade classroom in Raleigh on November 20 to present it to him and read to his class. I am so excited. If you want a sneak peek, my amazon page is ready! This one is a Christmas story.

We hope you will come visit Bedford Landings for a quick get away and enjoy a fire pit S’more’s package, a nice glass or full bodied wine and unwind!

As Thanksgiving approaches, think back on the last year. Think of the trials and issues that presented themselves and also the wondrous gifts of life, love, jobs, a warm home, kind friends and loving family. Giving thanks on this end!!

Summer was busy at Bedford Landings Bed & Breakfast, but summer is over and we are moving into fall. Many of our summer guests have indicated that they wanted to come back as the leaves were changing. I am not sure when the leaves actually change. It’s all a nature-driven formula where trees adjust their chlorophyll. The length of the day, the changes in temperature, and the rainfall all come into play. Higher elevations change first but according to the Virginia Department of Forestry, our peak season for central Virginia will be October 10-20. Some other sources push this out 5 days since we have still held to warmer temperatures.

At Smith Mountain Lake, the season is extended with special events scheduled into the fall. Make your reservation as soon as you can plan it out! But also consider a Flightseeing airplane ride with Jack over the lake or the Peaks of Otter!

Some of the events include such fun as:

October 12-13, 2018
• Smith Mountain Arts Council Art Show– Bethlehem United Methodist Church
• SML Antique and Classic Boat Show – Mariner’s Landing
• Oktoberfest – Westlake Towne Center

October 20
• Gross’ Orchard Apple Harvest Festival

November 3
• Harvest Festival at Booker T. Washington National Monument
• SML Fall Chili and Craft Fest – at Bridgewater Plaza

November 10
Veteran’s Day Ceremony – D-Day Memorial,  Bedford, Va

November 17
Thomas Jefferson’s Wine Festival- Poplar Forest

November 24
Christmas Around Bridgewater– Santa Arrives

For additional events, check out the SML Chamber of Commerce Calendar.