Bear Creek Cabin

What will it take to make us happy?  It’s hot…  too hot.

Remember last winter?  It seems like such a long time ago.  I didn’t think the snow would ever end, and to make matters worse, I was traveling from Clyde to Asheville during extremely early morning hours on snow and ice covered roads.   I complained, and when I complained, I knew my words would come back to haunt me.

Now…  all of this hot, humid air, has me stuck inside looking outside, longing for cooler times.   We went from one extreme to the other.    But for now, I give pause and think of snow.

My friend Robbie Hunt is opening a Christmas Tree Farm this winter.  So I asked for some photos… think cool.  The farm looks beautiful, wouldn’t it be wonderful to take a drive out to Hot Springs and throw a few snowballs?

At the very least, we can take note and visit when the season is upon us.  At least we know where to go.  The farm isn’t far from his vacation rentals at Bear Creek Cabin Rentals in Hot Springs, NC.  Oh, by the way, if you haven’t visited Bear Creek Cabins…  you’re missing something wonderful.  Robbie has two handcrafted multi-story cabins which are made from wood off the land, and they are nestled within nine private acres.

If you are interested in the cabins or the Christmas Tree Farm, you can contact Robbie Hunt by calling:  828-400-2933.

It’s been said… “build it and they will come.”

In the case of Bethel Eden Farm, people are coming. We visited a simply divine produce stand today. It is owned by Dawn Cox of Canton, NC. As in “it’s a small world”, Dawn and I worked together on a website design project for her past employer a few years ago. Since then, she has branched out with Bethel Eden Farm and Pigeon Valley Farms. And it is our shared love for freshly baked goods that brought us together today.

Her new produce stand has been open for about four weeks and is located at 2279 Pisgah Drive in Canton. Her offerings include the most luscious blackberries I’ve seen… and you can tell, I love blackberries. Also found at the stand is Heirloom tomatoes, peppers, beans, corn and a selection from Sunburst Trout Farms, another amazing farm. Her refrigerated melons will definitely hit the spot on these hot summer days.

Dawn’s plan is to offer freshly baked breads and pies in the future, and with those blackberries… I will be the first in line, and I’m a bakery!

To visit:

Bethel Eden Farms is located at:

2279 Pisgah Drive, Canton, NC 28716
Phone: 828-550-4001

There’s virtually nothing that says summer more than blackberries.   Found along roadsides, hillsides and many backyards, the North Carolina mountain area is the place to “go a-berryin”.   From late June to early August, the blackberry bushes show large white flowers which turn to red berries and then to the luscious blackberry.  You pick the berries one to two days after they turn black for dead-ripe sweetness.

…just simply delicious is now serving freshly picked wild blackberries directly from the hills on our farm in many of our dessert offerings.

The blackberry is nutritious.  One serving of blackberries (one cup or 140 gm) provides 50 percent of the vitamin C, 10 percent of the folate, and 22 percent of the fiber required daily. Blackberries are also a good source of potassium, calcium, and iron. In addition, the compound ellagic acid, identified as an anticarcinogen, is found in blackberries. *

*more nutritional  information