Ever since acquiring this property, it's been my intention to turn the small patches of lawn on the entry side of the house into never-need-mowing herb lawns. After all, there's not much grass really there, certainly not much of any desirable kind; what goes on there is a march through the progression of perennial weeds. And it takes too much last-minute trimming for the area to look good for guests. A main concern for a B&B is to keep things looking good while reducing the labor involved. Quite a few people have tried to tell me that there's nothing easier and faster to deal with than a simple patch of grass, but anyone who's been here knows that I haven't been convinced. So, since I got to stay here year-round this year, I thought this would be the spring to do it. I did clear out the southern patch, the one bounded by the entry walk/ramp on the north, house on the west, wall of English ivy on the south. Hoed out the grass roots and the weeds and got a pretty clear area to work with. I started moving lemon balm, monarda (bee balm), thyme and spearmint to the four edges, to work gradually inwards. Moved bluebells to encircle the weeping cherry but they didn't like it a bit: those glossy, taut lily-like leaves lost all signs of life, but I'm hoping that the bulbs survive and we'll get a nice display next spring. But then the temperature started nudging 90 degrees every day - just too hot to start small transplants, unless I put a sprinkler on every day, and that's a wasteful method. I'm holding off, and that means large patches of dirt, and grasses creeping back in. Will work on it as I can, and in the meantime: apologies ...

We thought we'd have it made with this new system. We've been told that the heating and A/C will respond to whichever zone has the greatest need (heaviest call on the system). So, it should be possible to let my parents' suite heat up in the morning and then air conditioning start cooling the rest of the house as the sun starts heating rooms up. The good news is that the house seems nicely cool in these recent 90- and near-90-degree days, and, hurrah! guests are finding the upstairs truly comfortable. But the dampers to my parents' zone are certainly not closing tightly as I believed they would and should. The air conditioning leaks - gently, but constantly - out their registers, so that they are not protected from the cooling. I'd like to hear from others who have zoned their houses (with a single furnace, heat pump and A/C unit, rather than completely separate systems). Do your zones close off tightly? Do we just accept the leaking air flows, or was it a bad installation?

Last spring, just after buying a large plasma tv for the living room, and setting it up in front of the unused fireplace, for want of other quick options, strange noises were heard from that spot. A funny sort of chattering or extended staccato whistling ... what on earth? Then a small bird plopped onto the floor one day and I discovered that the noises were from chimney swifts nesting here. I couldn't move the tv and heavy stand to put the bird back up the chimney as I should have, so I tried to put it in a safe spot outside. Probably never made it, although I never saw proof of its demise. If it fell after an unsuccessful attempt at flight, perhaps the next try was a success. It seemed mature enough. Interestingly, they need to be offered something vertical to cling to, as they don't perch on other surfaces. Brick and mortar chimneys are ideal.

So, this surprise was reason to learn something new. I found that chimney swifts are endangered, and protected by federal and state laws. ChimneySwifts.org tells us that, "Chimney Swifts are extremely beneficial. Two parents and their noisy offspring will consume over 12,000 flying insect pests every day. These include only small things like mosquitoes, gnats, termites and biting flies. Unfortunately Chimney Swift numbers are in decline due to loss of habitat -- first large hollow trees, and now open masonry chimneys."

Now, after rearranging the furniture, I've got access to the fireplace again and am all ready to retrieve and replace any fallen little ones this year. But so far, so good. The chattering goes on and no arrivals on the floor. I hope there's a large family enjoying any and all mosquitos!

You'll have realized that massive applications of herbicide are not my approach to gardening. What organic gardening means to me, in 25 words or less: Weeding with a shovel. (Are you old enough to remember cereal-box contests?) Pokeweed and pigweed, bane of my existence. After johnson grass, that is. And ragweed! Less numerous are jimson weed and lamb's quarters.

But other common "weeds" I can easily live with. I don't mow the field north of the barn when the buttercups are in bloom: I think they're a lovely sight. I like the spreading violets and the white clover is actually good butterfly habitat. I tried to remove oxalis when I first came here, but that turned into my first "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" response, as it's so persistent, and actually pretty. I moved oxalis plants to ring the fountain, and let them grow alongside the back sidewalk. But last year, the funniest one came along: great mullein (Verbascum) in the front yard; and it so amused me, I left it. After all, it's grown in England for herbal remedies, or so I read, so I consider appropriate to herb gardens. This year Rudbeckia is popping up in that same yard, and as my mother loves daisy-type flowers, and these black-eyed susans are also good butterfly habitat plants, they're being left alone as well. I had tried moving them a couple of years ago, to make a patch out by the locust trees, but they didn't survive transplanting, so now I'll try letting them spread where they are.

The March display of forsythia is so bright and cheerful: greedy me, I've always wanted to double it. Forsythia is at the north (roadside) edge of our yard, in a nice long line - challenged by locust trees and upstart sumac and pokeweed that needs digging out every year. I make the roadside of that line a service drive into the property for when trucks need to get back to the well or the propane tank. Finally, fall 2009, I did plant (with much help from a friend!) a parallel line of another couple dozen forsythia, so that the drive will be between the rows of shrubs. I buy plants such as these in quantity from Greenwood Nursery and have had good luck with them. They were the source of all my lilacs, for example. (Seems McMinnville, TN and area have a number of growers that sell in quantity online, very reasonably.) Now I can see little yellow blossoms all along the slender stalks planted 4 months ago. Can you see the tiny dots of yellow? Nice reward for the labor, and gives hope that in another two or three years, there'll be a very golden display out here.

If we could all see weeds as "wildflowers" - whether they are or not - how much easier it would be! There are some perennial weeds that I just hate the sight of, like henbit. Why this one in particular bugs me, I'm not sure, as you wouldn't necessarily consider it ugly, but I do take its appearance as nearly a personal affront. On the other hand, there are some perennail groundcover weeds I can easily live with. One is Duchesnea indica, known as Indian mock strawberry.

My first year here, I noticed this rather attractive plant, looking like a wild strawberry. Just a few inches high, bright green leaves, in threes, spreading by runners; small yellow flowers and eventually little red fruits. Looked like a strawberry plant, acted like a strawberry plant, must be - ? Called the local extension office but our officer there had no idea. So I looked online and found it. NO relation to strawberries (Fragaria) at all. And I had noted that the little fruits were actually not so interesting: no scent, small, a little grainy. Reportedly, no scent, no taste, but innocuous, nothing toxic here. So I decided this is one I can live with. I find it quite an attractive groundcover, really, and it's easy to pull up when it starts crowding something I've planted. There are some bare areas under the crepe myrtles that have been hard to deal with, especially since I found that voles will devour any hosta I plant. So this is my solution: love the one you're with, so to speak.

Have not been making time for blogging, but the need to express some sort of tribute to a dear friend has brought me back here. Today, Conway Kuhlmann passed away at Indian River Medical Center in Vero Beach, FL. A very big loss.

Conway grew up in Washington, MO, and got to know my folks in the second half of the 1930s when he was working at a drugstore in St. Louis, MO. Mom and Dad - not yet dating - and a group of other youngsters at Giddings-Boyle Presbyterian Church would put out the weekly church bulletin and then go out for ice cream: at the drugstore around the corner where Conway worked. That's how he met his future wife, Betty Huff, and how he got involved with the group from Giddings-Boyle. He said the church group would relax there, laughing and joking, with maybe a racy tale (I cannot imagine that church-going group telling stories that anyone would bat an eyelid at today ...) and there would be this one cute blonde always saying, "I don't get it!" - and that was the girl he fell for.

Betty was in school with my mother's little sister, Freda, who would go off to Italy to pursue an opera career a decade later, after the war. So gradually Betty and Conway and my parents bonded as friends, and the friendship stayed strong all their lives. They took occasional vacations together, they visited each others' homes, like friends do. I remember staying with Betty and Conway in North Bellport, Long Island, the night before my folks and I sailed to Europe on the S.S. France in 1964. I vaguely remember an earlier visit to them in Indianapolis, and remember their family visiting ours at our lake house in Osage Beach, MO. Eventually Conway took early retirement from Eli Lilly, and he and Betty moved to Eleuthera where they lived the adventure of finishing a partly-built house, living without indoor plumbing for some time, catching their own dinner - or diving for it; taking their boat to go shopping on the next island; living it up on their private bay. I never went there, but my folks visited many times. I saw the beautiful shell frames and mirrors and other items Betty made so painstakingly, and saw the watercolors my mother painted of their home and their area. Circumstances changed after some years, and they moved to Florida, where Conway worked again, this time as a pharmacist in Okeechobee. They'd visit my folks in retirement in Hilton Head and my folks would visit in FL or on trips together.

Betty's heart problems caused them to relocate to Vero Beach for her medical care in 1999. When she passed away, Conway could not stay in the house he'd shared with the love of his life. My parents bought the house in October 2002 and moved to Vero, and Conway moved to a condo. (Now my parents' poor health has them living with me, and putting this Vero Beach home on the market.) In Vero, we enjoyed many good times with Conway over the next seven years, and helped each other with many things. it was a given that we'd have holiday dinners together - especially since I love to cook for friends - although, with Conway's strong involvement with his church community, we might not have the holiday dinner just on the day. He was also a very dedicated volunteer to Habitat for Humanity. For years, he went to work with them early every weekday, building houses, using the skills he had from his own home finishing and learning more all the time. He put those skills to use for me, too, in two visits to Heaven Scent, where he helped rescreen the porch and do some drywall. He made great numbers of friends everywhere he got involved, as he was so very likeable and unselfish. Conway was always gracious and compassionate, positive and appreciative in his outlook, helpful and kind. He could be quite upset with things he thought were wrong or unjust, but never foisted a bad mood off on anyone; he seemed always to keep his self-control and perspective, and to be determined to remain optimistic. That made him great company in any situation, an easy and enjoyable companion. He was a great fan of Thomas Friedman, read his columns and books, and talked about the issues raised in them. In other tastes he seemed so simply innocent and pure: always a fan of Lawrence Welk, for instance. He was absolutely devoted to Betty, and in his eight years as a widower, despite the many attentions from neighbors and church friends, never could consider getting interested in another woman again. He was a great friend, and we will always miss him.

Artists' Open Studio event takes place just after Thanksgiving

The weekend after Thanksgiving Day, a good number of artists' studios all around neighboring Mathews county will be open to visitors. You can get a map at the Mathews Visitor Center, Bay School of the Arts, or right here at Heaven Scent. You then visit at your own pace. It's a great opportunity to see what's being produced around here, and possibly to make progress with your Christmas shopping. Just seeing the variety of studios and ways of working is fun enough, but the chance to meet the artists and learn about their work makes this a very special event. And it's free!

Verify availability and secure a room in minutes

I'm very pleased to report that 5 of our last 7 bookings were made and paid online, at http://chickcovemanor.com/. While much of the pleasure of running a B&B is in getting to know the guests, and it's very useful to speak with guests before they arrive, it's good to know that the system works, that people are looking for this option, and that the guest visits seem to end up just as successful as those booked after fairly extensive conversations.

On the other hand, this year's attempt to offer a site with package specials drew a blank. It has been a slow season in all regards. But given that online booking seems to be catching on, I'm remaking the packages/specials site over to a format more like the current online booking. It will be up as soon as I have enough information on local events in 2010; I've been working on calendar updates this week, but of course many event organizers won't catch up with their online notices until January or so. My new pages should be up in a few weeks, certainly before the end of the year, and they will be at this same base url, bnb-va.com. I would really welcome hearing from past guests and potential guests about what they hope to find when they book online, so that I can tailor the site accordingly.

Spambot postings on the web are such a plague, that it seems impossible now to offer a form without some sort of "prove you're human" protection.  For fellow asp.net fans, here's a free and easy CAPTCHA control to integrate:  http://recaptcha.net/plugins/aspnet/.

And if you're new to this, and not quite sure what CAPTCHA is: it's one of those warped images of letters and/or numbers that you may be required to discern and type into a webform before submitting it.

The term "CAPTCHA" (think "capture") was coined in 2000 by Luis von Ahn, Manuel Blum, Nicholas J. Hopper (all of Carnegie Mellon University), and John Langford (then of IBM). It is a contrived acronym for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart." Carnegie Mellon failed in its bid to copyright the term.

Wikipedia's article on Captcha describes it as a reverse Turing test: a machine administering a test to a human, rather than the other way around. More about Turing tests, for the endlessly curious, at the online Stanford Encylcopedia of Philosophy http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/turing-test/.