Summer business and a business trip

We have had many wonderful guests this summer who have said very good things about our garden and flowers...even after the moose visits. We look forward to hosting many more this summer who have made reservations.

Tomorrow I leave for an Association of Lutheran Church Musicians national meeting in Milwaukee. I am excited as a musician to be going to this event. My friend (Voni) at church will be playing the organ for the service I will miss this Sunday. Thank you Voni!

The planning that has led up to going is big. Craig will stay behind with the B&B guests. I've arranged/trained cleaners to come and work while I am gone. I also arranged to have Erna,a friend and former B&B owner, come very early each morning and prepare breakfast. I am soooo fortunate to have her as a friend. Thank you Erna!

I feel all will go well while I am gone for the six days.

More Moose (Cow & 2 calves)

A little more than a week ago we were visited by a cow and two calves who lay in the grass of our backyard. They were resting and provided a great opportunity for our guests to take pictures. I also got numerous photos. One you would have seen with this post if I knew how to operate my digital camera. I just found out I was taking movies of the moose. I will try to put those on my Facebook wall. As an aside if you want to be my "friend" please just send in the request. I've set up the account under "Caroline Dunbar Valentine."

It was mid-afternoon when the moose were here. I had errands. I left the moose chewing their cuds.

Next morning I noticed the carnage in the garden. All the leaves were gone from our strawberry plants. Every broccoli plant was also gone. Further, one or several of them stripped the flowers off the center fuschsia hanging basket. This basket is right next to the basket which previously hosted the robin's nest. There are other flowers throughout the garden that they ate before leaving.

They were being typical moose except for the fact that we did see them for a lengthy period of time.

Robins have flown

It has been exactly one week since all the baby robins flew away. Before I went for my usual long Saturday walk, I checked their nest. All four were stuffed in the nest. I returned back to the B&B after two hours. They were all gone. Now we have a second empty nest.

My husband and I will probably remove this nest from our fuchsia hanging basket tomorrow. I am considering setting up a letter box on our Camai B&B property and using the two nests.

Walking

I'm pleased that Craig and I walked the Mayor's Half-Marathon on June 20. Craig finished better than his previous half-marathon time by 30 minutes. I finished in the same time as my previous time last August; however, I had so much energy that I jogged the last half-mile.

Today, I downloaded my Nike+iPod and found out that I've now logged in more than 500 miles since using my Nike+iPod. I'm pretty proud of this accomplishment. The Nike store sucked me into buying a T-shirt for the Nike 500 mile club. I just may be wearing that shirt if you see me at Camai B&B or around Anchorage!

Peonies in bloom

The peonies this year have been outstanding in their display of numerous and large flowers. I am not only enjoying them visually but also enjoying their fragrance. I remember the scent of peonies that were in my grandmother's backyard in Illinois. I was barely more than a toddler then.

Rose Suite (Antiques are "New")

Just this past week we changed the furnishings of the Rose Suite to a beautiful walnut antique headboard and dresser. We also changed the art on the wall. These furnishings came to me via my grandmother. She used the furniture in the late 1890's in her home. I have her photos of some of the pieces she used.

After my grandmother's (Meta Pillsbury Dunbar) death, I inherited several pieces of her furniture. Some of it had been stored in her Illinois attic for such a long time that it was damaged. In Anchorage we are extremely fortunate to have a man who does repair and restoration beyond outstanding! He worked on this "new" furniture and has brought it back to its glory.

I hope you enjoy the pictures. More than that I want our guests to enjoy the quiet relaxed space.

Baby Robins at Camai B&B

The eggs hatched and the babies are getting big enough to see over the edge of the nest! The babies are just furry mouths to be fed. B&B guests, young and old, are enjoying watching the birds.