April 30, 2018
April Gardening at Buckhorn Inn
We love gardening at Buckhorn Inn! Our guests from other parts of the country often are curious about our growing season. So we thought we would give you a peek into what we are doing this April.
Keeping our gardens in good shape is a labor of love.
Our display of spring bulbs was beautiful this year. We are marking their locations so we will know where to fertilize this fall. We are diligent about removing the faded flowers to make everything look better and to keep seeds from forming. Our Siberian irises are blooming now. After they finish we will divide them and replant.
We have pruned the perennials that have not yet started to grow, and renewed our mulch so that is about 3″ deep. We pruned our trees, removing dead and diseased limbs, before they began to leaf out.
The annual flowers we have set out bring color now, and throughout the entire summer. Even though some early balmy temperatures and sunny days were seductive, we waited until we were sure spring had arrived for good before we put them out!
Gardening for Edibles
This month we filled our new raised-bed vegetable gardens with seeds for early and late lettuce mixes, kaleidoscope carrots and okra. Last week we planted tomatoes and a mix of sweet and hot peppers. We are especially pleased with our new kitchen herb garden. It is planted right outside the kitchen door for easy access by our chefs.
This month we planted our kitchen herb garden.
Our selections include dill, cilantro, basil, curry, rosemary, majoram, oregano, thyme, and sage. We look forward to seeing how the supply of fresh herbs and vegetables will inspire our chefs!
The school of agriculture at the University of Tennessee is a wonderful source of information and inspiration. Check out their website http://www.agt.tennessee.edu/utg for information and inspiration! They also have information on upcoming events, such as their May 6 Plantapalooza and hosta sale!
We wish you a wonderful spring and hope that your gardens grow and flourish!
April 23, 2018
Rhododendron Provides Stunning Spring Display
Have you been lucky enough to come upon a rosebay rhododendron on the Buckhorn Inn Nature Trail while it is in full bloom? You can see several beautiful specimens toward Cottage 1 and also growing along the edge of Buckhorn Pond. They reach their blooming peak in June.
The Spring 2018 issue of Smokies Life Magazine http://www.smokiesinformation.org/smokies-life-magazine celebrates this beautiful shrub. There are four native species of this wonderful plant in this area.
Rhododendron are seen along many trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The rosebay grows at lower levels and can be found throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The small-leafed variety also grows at lower levels. The Carolina and the Catawba can me found at mid- to high-levels.
The word “rhododendron” means rose tree. The Smokies Life article by Courtney Nix contains this marvelous description, written in 1799 by explorer John Fraser, Jr.: “We had been traveling among the mountains, and one morning we were ascending to the summit of Bald Mountain in the midst of a fog so dense that we could not see farther than a yard before us. As we reached the top the fog began to clear away, and the sun to shine out brightly. The first objects that attracted our eye, growing among the long grass was rhododendron catawbiense in full bloom. There was no other plant there but itself and the grass, and the scene was beautiful.” Indeed, it must have been spectacular!
Growing Rhododendron Shrubs
These evergreen bushes prefer moist, acidic soil. They do well in light shade. High winds can harm the plants, so be sure they are planted near wind-breaks. Pine needles are good used as a mulch as they add acid to the soil and keep the ground moist.
Rosebays, such as ours, do not bloom every year. They have an irregular bloom cycle. Some years, perhaps due to good weather, lack of a late frost, or good patterns of rainfall, more shrubs than usual bloom. Count yourself lucky if you happen to be in the Great Smoky Mountains during one of these “Big Bloom” years!
April 17, 2018
Celebrate England on St. George’s Day
St. George’s Day is celebrated on April 23.
Are you familiar with St. George’s Day? As the website http://www.st.georgesday.com points out, the Irish celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and the Scottish have St. Andrew’s Day. All English people should come together on April 23 to celebrate England’s own patron saint. Traditionally one flies the St. George flag and wears a red lapel rose.
The history of St. George’s Day is a long one. The Council of Oxford declared April 23 to be the day of recognition in 1222. In 1348 St. George became the Patron Saint of England and the protector of the royal family. In 1552, during the English Reformation, banners for all saints, except Saint George, were banned. The April 23 holiday remembering St. George’s death, was a major one, on a par with Christmas, until the 18th century when England and Scotland united. Recently many societies, including the English Heritage and the Royal Society of St. George, are working to reinstate the major holiday.
Who Do We Celebrate on St. George’s Day?
Saint George was a Roman soldier. He was put to death in AD 303 for refusing to recant his Christian faith. He was especially venerated as a Christian martyr by the Crusaders. In medieval romance stories, St. George slew a dragon with a lance called Ascalon. Interestingly, centuries later Winston Churchill used the name Ascalon for his personal aircraft during World War II. He is often depicted seated upon a white horse, slaying a dragon.
George is regarded as a protective saint. His cross forms the national flag of England and is featured on the union flag of the United Kingdom.
One of our favorite local places to hoist a pint in honor of St. George is the Fox and Parrot Tavern located on Glades Road. Perhaps we will see you there!
April 9, 2018
Honeybees Benefit Tennessee Agriculture
Honeybees pollinate numerous crops. In Tennessee the value of crops benefiting from their pollination exceeds $119 million annually. Unfortunately, diseases and pests have caused annual losses of bees, in some years as many as 50%.
Two honeybee hives have been added to the Buckhorn Inn grounds.
We are pleased to be telling you that Buckhorn Inn is doing its part to protect and support these important pollinators. Thanks to our son Jack, two new hives have been put up and two colonies of bees installed. Queen Bee Elizabeth and her minions are on the left, while Queen Bee Victoria has her kingdom in the hive on the right. Our immediate goal is to increase the population of honeybees. But ultimately we hope to produce enough delicious honey to supply the Buckhorn Inn kitchen and to offer some to guests. We thought you might want to learn about honey bees along with us!
Facts about Honeybees
Honeybees produce honeycomb made up of hexagonal cells.
- 1. Honeybees have six legs, two compound eyes, three simple eyes, two pairs of wings, a nectar pouch, and a stomach. http://www.benefits-of-honey.com
- 2. Honeybees can fly as fast as 15 miles per hour and can travel as far as six miles. Their wings beat about 200 strokes per second.
- 3. In order to collect one kilogram of honey, a hive of bees will fly the equivalent of three orbits around the earth.
- 4. The queen bee can live up to five years. Her colony consists of 20,000 to 60,000 bees.
- A forager bee visits 50 to 100 flowers on each flight from the hive. She repeats these trips all day, averaging as many as 2,000 flowers per day.
- It takes six to eight pounds of honey ingested for bees to produce one pound of beeswax.
- The only bees that sting are the worker bees. They will only sting if they feel threatened, and will die once they sting.
- In the lifetime of a worker bee, she produces about 1/12th teaspoon of honey.
- Bees overwinter by clustering in their hives to keep the queen and themselves warm. They feed on the honey collected during warmer months and on syrup provided by the beekeeper.
- Forager bees find flowers then return to the hive and share detailed directions. In 1973 Karl von Frisch received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for cracking the code of the bees–the waggle dance.
Watch our blog and Facebook and Instagram posts for more information about our bees. We are proud members of the beekeeping associations of Sevier County and Tennessee. You may visit http://www.tnbeekeepers.org for information on the resources they offer.
April 3, 2018
Elk Thrive in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park look forward to spotting our large wildlife–namely bear and elk. We are fortunate indeed to be located near such splendor.
A bull elk is a magnificent sight.
Did you know that once large numbers of elk freely roamed the Appalachian Mountains and eastern United States? Unfortunately, overhunting and destruction of habitat severely lowered their numbers. Conservation groups became concerned that the animals would eventually become extinct. The last of the magnificent beasts disappeared from Tennessee in the mid 1800’s.
In 2001 the National Park Service reintroduced elk to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Twenty-five of the animals were moved to the park then, and 27 more were placed here in 2002. The elk (or wapiti) wear radio collars and ear tags to aid conservationists in tracking their range and movements. The herd now numbers as many as 200 animals.
These are the largest animals in the Smokies. The bulls weigh 600 to 700 pounds, measure 7 to 10 feet long, and sport antlers that can measure 5 feet from tip to tip.
Safe Viewing of Elk in the Park
The best times to view these animals are early in the morning and late in the evening. They also are more active after storms or on cloudy days. Most of them are located in the Cataloochee area in the southeastern section of the park, easily accessible from the Buckhorn Inn. This is a lovely area to hike and picnic as well. Always view these wild animals from a safe distance, using binoculars or a camera for close-ups. Be especially careful of calves as there likely is an anxious mother nearby. The males may perceive you as a challenger and charge. The National Park Service offers a short video about safely viewing elk. You may find a link to it at http://www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/nature/elk.htm
During March and April the animals begin to shed their antlers. Please note that it is not legal to remove antlers from the park. The discarded antlers are a rich source of calcium for other wildlife in the park.
March 12, 2018
Aquarium Is a Great Place to Visit
Have you visited Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies in Gatlinburg? Currently it is the top-rated aquarium in the United States. If you had planned to hike, but Mother Nature did not cooperate, then this is the place to spend a rainy day!
More than 100,000 exotic sea creatures live in the 1.4 million gallons of water.
Kathy Cuppy took this beautiful photo.
Buckhorn Inn guest Kathy Cuppy visited the Aquarium and shared her spectacular photos with us.
Underwater Tunnel is Highlight of Aquarium
One of the most unique features of the facility is the 340-foot-long underwater tunnel. It is one of the longest underwater tunnels in the world. A motorized sidewalk carries you through the watery home of many unique fish and several species of shark. They are swimming within inches of you!
Another unique opportunity is the splash-with-stingrays! You will be able to get into the water at Touch-a-Ray Bay and swim with the stingrays.
For an up-close-and-personal tour of Shark Lagoon, you can take a glass bottom boat ride. You will be surrounded by the colorful and fascinating forms of marine life that call the Atlantic and Caribbean reefs home. Three inches of glass will separate you from a giant green sea turtle, 12-foot sharks, and 75 types of other colorful sea creatures.
You also have the opportunity to take a behind-the-scenes tour of the facility. A guide will take you through the “staff-only” doors to see the control room, life support rooms, and the many ways the staff ensure the sea life remains happy and healthy.
It takes about two hours to tour the facility, which is easily navigable for wheelchairs and strollers. The city-owned parking garage behind the aquarium makes parking very convenient. This is a very popular local attraction. For that reason, we recommend visiting on weekdays when their are fewer visitors. For more information or to buy tickets, go to http://www.ripleyaquariums.com/gatlinburg.
March 5, 2018
St. Patrick’s Day — Soup Hits the Spot
Although it’s roots are Irish, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated the world over. The day is marked with parades, green beer, and huge corned beef and cabbage dinners. Contrary to popular belief, however, corned beef is not a traditional dish from Ireland. According to http://www.history.com/news/hungry-history/corned-beef-as -irish-as-spaghetti- and-meatballs,, corned beef and cabbage was a dish developed by Irish immigrants to the United States. Many working-class Irish struggled economically in the New World. “Corning” beef was a way to preserve meat. The taste reminded the Irish newcomers of their beloved boiled bacon from back home. Cabbage was one of the cheapest vegetables in the markets and paired well with the salty spiced beef. When cooked in the same pot, the dish was easy-to-prepare, inexpensive, and delicious! Its roots are so American that the dish was served at President Lincoln’s inauguration dinner in 1862.
Our guests love our corned beef soup, and so will you, whether or not you serve it on St. Patrick’s Day!
Corned Beef Soup for St. Patrick’s Day or Not
2-3 lbs Corned beef
1 cube Beef bouillon
2 cloves Garlic, diced
2 Cloves
3 Carrots, sliced thickly
6 Potatoes, peeled and diced
7 cups Water
1/2 cup Onion, chopped
6 Peppercorns
2 Bay leafs
6 cups Cabbage, coarsely chopped
For a quick version of this soup, purchase pre-cooked corned beef.
Cover corned beef with water in large soup pot. Bring to boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 15 minutes and skim. Add bouillon cube, onion, garlic, peppercorns, cloves and bay leafs. Simmer for 3 to 4 hours until meat is tender. Remove meat from broth and cool. Skim fat from broth.
Cut meat into bite-size pieces and return to broth. Add carrots and potatoes; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes or until all the vegetables are tender. Remove the peppercorns, cloves and bay leaf before serving. This recipe pairs nicely with soda bread or other rustic bread.
February 26, 2018
Hikes to Cemeteries of the Smokies
Did you know that their are roughly 150 cemeteries scattered throughout the Great Smoky Mountains National Park? The land for the park was purchased from families, many of whom lived in this area since the 1800’s. Along with homes, churches, farm buildings, and stone walls, many of their cemeteries are part of the park land. Some are near main trails, others can be found with a map, and a few are slowly becoming overgrown and disappearing.
More than 150 cemeteries can be found in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
“Cemeteries of the Smokies” Guidebook
One of the most popular books published by the Great Smoky Mountains Association is “Cemeteries of the Smokies”. The book provides directions to all 152 graveyards in the park. For each site, the book provides a complete listing of burials and dates, kinship links, and epitaphs. There is also an index of local family names. These historic spots provide a tangible link with our area’s past. They can provide us with insight into customs, religious beliefs, cultural and ethnic influences, and the community development of our ancestors.
The Hiking 101 program sponsored by the Great Smoky Mountains Association takes its inspiration from this book. They have designed 12 guided hikes and a bus tour to take participants to the sacred spaces within the boundaries. These hikes are not all easy, but the hiker is rewarded by coming to know those who lived and died here, and remain buried in lost graves, family plots, and in church burial grounds. Registration for these hikes is now open. For program details and to register, please visit http://www.smokiesinformation.org.
The hikes are limited to 15 individuals each and run from March 17 through October 16 2018. It is important to note that the Park Service frowns on creating “rubbings” of inscriptions on the headstones. The pressure needed to make a clear rubbing can damage the surface. The Great Smoky Mountain Association asks for your help in ensuring the preservation of these plots for future generations.
February 19, 2018
Swans Make Frequent Appearances in Literature
One of the most famous stories in children’s literature is “The Ugly Duckling” by Hans Christian Andersen. The story is about a cygnet who thinks he is an unattractive duckling, but grows into a beautiful and graceful swan. Andersen also wrote “The Wild Swans”. This tale features an evil stepmother who turned her stepsons into swans. They carry away their sister to save her. The sister is mute, but spends her days knitting shirts from nettles. She is about to be burned at the stake as a witch when her brothers descend from the sky and save her. They don the magic nettle shirts and turn into human form. Their sister regains her speech and all live happily ever after.
The graceful swans at the Buckhorn Inn could star in their own story.
Greek mythology shares the story of Leda and the swan. This story recounts the conception of Helen of Troy by the Queen of Sparta and Zeus, disguised as a swan. This myth was expressed powerfully by W.B. Yeats in his poem “Leda and the Swan”. Yeats also wrote “The Wild Swans at Coole” which expressed his search for lasting beauty in a changing world where beauty was temporary.
In Norse mythology, two swans drink from the Well of Urd. The water is so pure that the swans turn white, as do all their descendants.
The Nicaraguan poet Ruben Dario used the swan as inspiration. His most famous poem perhaps is “Coat of Arms”. His use of the swan made it the symbol of the Modernismo poetic movement.
Works of classical literature reference the myth that otherwise mute swans sing beautifully at the moment of their death. This idea gave birth to the phrase “swan song”.
Because of their lifelong, monogamous pairing, swans are often a symbol of never ending love. Swans were a favorite bird Shakespeare. Many of his works feature them, including this passage from “As You Like It”:
And wheresoever we went, like Juno’s swans, still we went coupled and unseparable.
Buckhorn Inn Swans to be Named in Mid-March, Literature Provides Inspiration
Our two brother swans arrived at the Inn on February 14. Innkeeper John is contemplating the many clever names submitted by our guests. Please refer to our earlier blog listing potential names. Please let us know your ideas if you have not yet done so!
February 12, 2018
Love is in the Air at Buckhorn Inn
February 14, St. Valentine’s Day, is a day for celebrating love. In addition to the United States, the holiday also is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark, Italy and Japan.
A night in one of our Premier Room’s is a great way to celebrate your love!
According to a survey done by Hallmark, more than 141 million cards are sent each Valentine’s Day. http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/valentines-day-facts This number excludes the packaged Valentines that children exchange in the classroom. This same research shows that more than half of these cards are purchased in the week leading up to the holiday.
Origins of February 14 as a Day of Love
The medieval poet Geoffrey Chaucer may have inspired Valentine’s Day as a day for lovers with his 1375 poem “Parliament of Foules”. The poem refers to February 14 as the day when birds (and humans) search for a mate. His work links traditions of courtly love with the feast of St. Valentine.
Charles, Duke of Orleans, is credited with writing the oldest known Valentine. He wrote a poem to his wife while he was imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1415. This poem currently is part of the collection of the British Library in London.
While Richard Cadbury did not patent the heart-shaped box of chocolate, experts agree he likely was the first to produce it in England in 1840. In a stroke of marketing genius, he promoted the boxes as having a dual purpose. They were so beautiful that after the chocolates were eaten they could be used to store love letters and other trinkets. The boxes grew increasingly detailed and elaborate. That is until World War II. Sugar was rationed, so the candy-giving aspect of the holiday was scaled down.
If you have not yet found the perfect token of affection for your Valentine, we can help! Our Valentine’s package includes a night in a cozy cottage or a luxurious premier room, both with fireplace. You and your sweetie will enjoy a delicious four-course dinner. The next morning you will enjoy a hearty breakfast in the dining room, or delivered to your accommodation. This $265 package is available through the end of February. Just let us know if you would like to add wine and a dozen roses to your experience.
Wishing you a special Valentine’s Day!
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