I have been asked by many of our many returning guests to write a small column about happenings here on the farm. The fact of the matter is that I did just that when we opened Spring House Farm over eight years ago! Time and web sites changed and old news letters slipped through the cracks.
Back then I named it The Hickory Nut Telegraph for a couple of reasons. First, the farm is situated at the base of Hickory Nut Mountain which is the crown of The Hickory Nut Gorge that extends down into the Lake Lure/ Chimney Rock area. The other reason is that an old friend who I knew in my flying boat days by the name of Jimmy Buffett used a similar title in one of his songs called The Coconut Telegraph. While those days are long gone and with me being blown way ashore and still having a bit of the tropics in my blood, I named it The Hickory Nut Telegraph. No more clear skies and green waters of the Caribbean for me, but the beautiful mountains of The Blue Ridge!
Other hints of past life.. Check out the names of our cabins. “The Bimini Twist”, “The Compleat Angler”, “The Flying Bridge”, “The Outrigger”… You get the idea. Oh, less I forget our most isolated cabin which sits atop a small mountain on the property. Called “The Reach” which I named after a phrase the Bahamian people use in describing when arriving somewhere as in “You done reach?”. This cottage is perfect for relaxing in the hot tub and gazing up at the stars!
So, as the names of the cabins suggest, we aren’t your typical mountain retreat with a few cabins scattered close by. We are very special in that we just have six completely PRIVATE and SECLUDED cabins situated on ninety- two acres of pristine mountain property. I will spare you with the usual pitch about our trout ponds and walking trails but must tell you that our cabins sleep just two persons and all have real wood burning fire places and front porch hot tubs! Get it now? Oh, and we even have one that has two bed rooms perfect for two couples! That one features gas logs and hot tub as well. If the walls could talk with that cabin!
Anyway, while we are wrapping up the summer now and enjoying the rains blown ashore from tropical systems down south, the weather will take on a change and bring cooler days and nights. With those cooler days of fall approaching we will begin to see the leaves changing to their beautiful autumn colors and smell the sweet smoke of a hickory log fire burning in one of our cabin fireplaces. The cooler waters in the upper pond will have the rainbow trout begin to come alive with promise of a hearty tug line if lucky enough to hook up!
Until then, the blossoms will still be blooming in our Lillie pad pond which surrounds Hammock Island and the promise of cooler nights, hot fireplace fires and warm hot tubs await!
See you soon!
Arthur
