It looks like it’s going to be a beautiful week here in Nelson County Virginia. The temperatures are in the upper 70’s and 80’s, and it’s easy to imagine guests staying at the six rooms of the Fenton Inn, ready to begin a wonderful vacation.
Last week you all got a sneak peak at the “street” in front of the bakery. You could barely see one of the copper doors at the end of the shot. Here is a closer look at the bear door. I get a lot of questions on how it was made, but really getting the bear to stand still was most of the trouble. We have had a few real bear prints around the project during construction, and if you hike in the woods, you can often see stones that have been flipped over as they look for ants.
The Blue Ridge Mountains are home to only one type of bear- the black bear. They occasionally leave foot prints in their search for ants and berries.
Last year some friends came down to visit from New York City. They pitched a tent and listened to the owls at night. The next morning they walked around and saw this new born fawn in the grass. It was probably born that night. Until they showed us the exact spot, we never would have seen it. Sometimes when you live here, you don’t look around as closely.
If you are a fan of bird watching, the area is a great place to whip out those binoculars and look for some of the large and small residents of the local tree tops. At the inn we have had a few bald eagle sightings, as well as the occasional golden eagle. This area has updrafts along the Blue Ridge Mountains that make it an easy migratory route for large birds. Often they can soar for miles effortlessly. Each spring a nesting pair of red tail hawks return to the sky over head and calls in the spring with a loud shreek. Other birds, like the cardinals, barred owls and the awkward flying pileated woodpecker never leave the property. If you haven’t seen one of these woodpeckers, you might be in for a surprise at how loud and large they are. The average pileated woodpecker can grow to up to 19 inches in length, and fly more like some prehistoric bird with an over sized head.
During the night you might hear the gentle hooting of an owl out of your window.There is an owl watching over the street from above.
Amazing craftsmanship.