Robin's Fixer-Upper Nest

The robins are once again picking some questionable nest locations around the inn.

One particular family decided to move into this fixer-upper (the nest was built last year). They re-lined the nest and shored it up with a little mud to make sure it was sturdy.

I guess there will be no croquet playing until these little eggs have hatched and the robins flown the nest!

This nest is located right on our front porch, next to our front door. Not the most private of locations, but in past years a robin has successfully raise 3 babies in a nest on top of a Christmas wreath that I waited too long to take down.

The Spring flowers are blooming all over the property.

The magnolia in the side yard has put on a magnificent display despite losing a number of big branches to a heavy winter snow.

Wee Forest Folk Coming Soon

We are excited to announce that the Greenville Arms 1889 Inn will soon carrying the highly collectable Wee Forest Folk figurines in our gift shop!

Wee Forest Folk are fanciful miniatures (mostly of mice) handcrafted by the Petersen family in Massachusetts since 1972.

These wonderfully expressive figures are a sought-after collectors item and even have their own fan club and annual convention!

We will have them available at the inn gift shop starting sometime next week and hope to have them available from our website later this year.

Blue-Eyed Grass is Wide-Eyed and Looking Fine

The Blue-Eyed Grass under the cut-leaf Maple is in full bloom.

This is always a sure sign that Spring is definitely here to stay.

And speaking of signs, here is one that we are happy to announce will soon be coming down for the season!

Last year our 50 ft. pool was closed for renovations, but they are almost complete and the pool will be open as usual during its regular season - May to September.

Remember the Ladies - Women of the Hudson River School

Contrary to popular understanding, landscape painting in the 19th century was not exclusively practiced by men. The 2010 exhibition at the Thomas Cole historical site in Catskill seeks to increase awareness of a previously little-celebrated but highly talented and accomplished group of women artists, and to examine the ways in which women artists were trained and exhibited their work alongside their male colleagues.

Opening Day: Sunday, May 2, 2010. There will be lecture at 2pm by co-curators, Nancy Siegel, Associate Professor of Art History, Towson University and Jennifer Krieger, Managing Partner, Hawthorne Fine Art. Admission to the lecture is $9.

This exhibit runs from May 2 - October 31, 2010.

The Main House and Studio are open by guided tour. From the first Saturday in May through the last Sunday in October, tours are offered Thursday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday 10 am-4 pm. Tours are offered at other times by appointment.

The Thomas Cole house is about 20 minutes away from the Greenville Arms 1889 Inn - one of the main historical sites in our area.

Art Exhibition at the Broderick Fine Art Gallery

The Broderick Fine Art Gallery, located in nearby Freehold, NY is pleased to announce the April 24 opening of "Where We Live", a show of plein air landscapes by Barbara L. Walter. Paintings in this unique exhibit capture the everyday beauty of the Northern Catskill region at its best.

About the work – Barbara is inspired when driving the country roads of Greene County and being treated to those special moments that frame the rural character of the area. This series of plein air paintings are of recognizable local spots in a variety of seasons, each one capturing a special moment--long shadows on snow, an emerging spring, or the morning light. The scenes depicted represent much of the history of the northern Catskills, with grand old barns, a family cemetery, and the historical hamlets. The scenes also show why the area still thrives on tourism, resorts and horse farms because of its classic rural character.

About the show – April 24^th through May 22^nd

Gallery Hours: Fridays and Saturdays from 5 – 10 pm

Opening: Saturday, April 24^th from 5-7 pm

About the Broderick Fine Art Gallery – An intimate venue, the gallery is located upstairs at "Ruby’s Hotel", 3689 County Road 67 in Freehold, NY, just off Route 32. Visitors may dine at Ruby’s where Chef Ana Sporer will treat their taste buds to freshly prepared culinary delights using the finest in-season organic produce from local purveyors. Sporer was formerly a chef at the Pierre in Manhattan and a chef instructor at both the New York Restaurant School and the Institute of Culinary Education. For directions or more information on Ruby’s call 518-634-2559 or visit their website.

Spring Activities This Week

We are always busy around the inn, but it is fun to take some time out to play with our dogs in the back fields.

That's a left over bit of toy that Hudson has hanging from his mouth. Unfortunately he like to chew as well as fetch his frisbies and that leftover bit was all that was left to throw for him!

The fallen trees are now all cleared away and the logs stacked in the forest. I'm thinking of using some of them to create a cutting flower garden in back of the carriage house.

Another Spring activity is taking pictures of some of our chocolate products to include in our Spring brochure. This is some shots I took of our chocolate bark.

We make the bark in dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, or vegan dark chocolate. There are lots of different flavor combinations. You can get it with organic fruit, such as cherries, apricots, or cranberries, or organic nuts, such as almonds, pistachios, or hazelnuts. Plus we just came out with an organic coffee bean bark that is quickly becoming the favorite.

Thank Goodness for Spring Flowers

The life of an innkeeper isn't all glamour and jolly times. Today I fixed two broken toilets, a shower drain, and a stuck lock -- in addition to serving breakfast to 13 and all the other duties that seem to never leave my to do list!

But thank goodness for Spring flowers that we can stop and enjoy!

Last weekend we worked at cutting down all of the broken tree limbs from the winter snow. We lost one of the large Maple trees in the front yard.

We started to try to tackle this one with a handsaw, but soon realized that a more modern tool was needed!

Once we get the stump ground out we'll plant another Maple tree in its place.

Another big task we tackled last weekend was to reorganize our office. A couple of years ago I had arranged everything in a sort of one person "command" center because I was the only one working in the office. But now it has been almost 2 year since Delores, our office assistant and chocolate saleswoman, has joined our team and the office was feeling a little crowded!

Here are the before pictures. This is Mark sitting at Delores' desk and you can see my desk right in back of it. (That plastic bin is our paper recycling bin.)

Here is the shipping department (it's that small white table!).

This is along the right side of the room - storage shelves and file cabinets.

Yes, it looks completely out of control but somehow we managed to make it work. However, now that I've rearranged the office it is going to be even better!

I still have a few more tweaks to do before I take the final "after" pictures but already everyone agrees that this was a much needed move.

New Look for One of My Favorite Rooms

One of the loveseat cushions in a guest room was getting frayed in one corner, and having inquired about professional reupholstering costs previously, I decided to give it a go myself! (Not putting down the work or the worth of professionals, but we have a lot of furniture and not unlimited funds! LOL)

Luckily it was just the cushion needing help, so I was confident that I could do a reasonable job.

So here are the results.

I should mention that I'm a big fan of MacKenzie Childs and their wildly decorated furniture! Obviously, this is not quite as wild, but I'm starting gently!

I think it turned out rather nicely. I made a simple zippered box cushion cover without welting. I also made matching arm covers, but I'm thinking that I now need to make new covers for the pillows in a coordinating moss green fabric for some more contrast and to complete the "patchwork" look.

I also replaced the shower curtain in the bathroom with a lovely one featuring accents of lavender and butterflies. Even the curtain hooks have butterflies.

If you are wondering which room this is it is Room 4 in the Main Inn. Room 4 is one of our smaller room, but it is one of my favorites! It is a nice cozy room off by itself. The loveseat is flanked by windows, so you get lots of sunlight and a lovely view (it's on the second floor).

I'll use this room when I feel like a moment of solitude and relaxation. I'll take a nice cup of coffee or hot chocolate, along with my knitting or a book to read and enjoy that comfy loveseat and the view of the trees through the windows. I could happily retreat there all day!