Farmhouse Bed & Breakfast Views and News - www.farmhousebb.com

Halloween Party at the Farmhouse

2011-10-31T10:28:00.000-07:00

Great Halloween party last night. Innkeepers from the Whidbey Island B & B association gathered to share an annual harvest dinner. Lots of good food & laughter. Business has been great & the fall leaves are beautiful at this time of year. There's a little nip in the air. Come tuck into a cosy suite at one of our fine inns on Whidbey Island.

Fall is here at the Farmhouse

2011-10-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

A riot of fall color surrounds the Farmhouse. The big maple in front has turned a brilliant red while the katsura tree is a shimmering gold & the vine maples are a pumpkin orange. Leo & Cleo & Fluffy & Muffy are all looking heavy in their winter coats & the bunnies are busy digging burrows. Pumpkin bread, cinnamon apple sauce and apple turnovers & crisps are featured breakfast treats. New "reads" await those who want to snuggle up by the fireplaces for cosy relaxing with a great cup of coffee or cocoa. All is well & peaceful at the Farmhouse.

Deer guests---I should say pests!

2011-06-14T18:20:00.000-07:00

First time in years, two young deer entered our yard. A couple of our guests alerted us to the mid-day munching moochers, who had found their way into the back yard, through the orchard gate & into the raspberry patch. We'll have to keep an eye on the garden gate now. We couldn't believe how brave they were, even while guests were walking around in the back yard. We love the animals but can't have the deer eating the garden. They won't be welcome here.
We've got a new batch of baby bunnies--golden in color. So cute! Still have many bunnies waiting around for a hand-out. Gary now has his own little food processer in the garage & turns out carrot mash to feed the bunnies. (We found out that they will stick around to be fed with this approach, instead of running off with a bigger piece of carrot.) And just as the bunny feeding begins, Leo will call out from the pasture, not to be forgotten in the carrot hand-out.
The sheep are interested only in cookies---pony cookies. But everyone is eager for kitchen scraps of all kinds. What fun at the Farmhouse!

Spring is near

2011-03-13T13:48:00.000-07:00

daffodils are in bloom and bunnies are looking for handouts.

Blackberries are ripe!

2010-08-06T21:54:00.000-07:00

Lots of guests this weekend! We made blackberry cobbler for all our guests. Mmmmm Yum!

Summer at last

2010-07-23T20:18:00.000-07:00

These warm summer days are keeping us busy watering the gardens & welcoming the guests. The shasta daisies have never been so tall ! The rhubarb is still hanging on so I'm baking more pies & crisp desserts. Yummy! The bunnies are just hanging out under the trees for relief from the sun.

We see thirteen cruise ships pass by here per week now on their way to Alaska. They were so enticing that we scheduled a trip for ourselves earlier this month. Very nice & so handy to hop on board in Seattle. Even Alaska was having some warm sunny weather! It was great to get away & fortunate that we have our daughters & son-in-laws available to take over the innkeeping for us.

We're glad to be back home & enjoying all the wonderful folks who come to stay at the Farmhouse.

Low Tides at on Useless Bay

2010-07-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

We've been having some of the lowest tides of the year this past week. What fun to play on Sunlight Beach with the grandkids. Just takes us 5 minutes to get to these wonderful acres of prestine sand & tide pools bordering Useless Bay. There's nothing like bare feet in the sand! That's Double Bluff in the background, also viewable from the Farmhouse. We found lots of sand dollars---but don't disturb the purple ones---they are still alive.

Bunny trouble

2010-06-29T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today Gary had a talk with one of the bunnies about digging holes in the yard. Now we know that bunnies dig holes, but it's not allowed in the lawn! I'm not sure Gary got his point across but the two of them were in deep conversation about the situation. This is our grandson, Ben, posing with another of the bunnies. We enjoy the bunnies but but not all the hole digging.

Longest day of the year

2010-06-21T12:26:00.000-07:00

June 21st--the first day of summer & the longest day of the year. The rose garden is in full bloom----21 roses in every color! I'm on my way out to gather some for bouquets in the suites.

We've had some pretty evenings even though the weather has been a bit cooler than normal for June.

summer must be on the way!

2010-06-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

The sheep have been sheared and the donkeys are shedding. It's a good sign that warmer weather & the sunshine is on the way to stay!

We've started a veggie garden. The Corn is 6 inches high & the squash & pumpkin plants look promising. We've already had salads fresh from the garden. Peas are just now coming on. I've been using spinage, bokchoy & arugula in our Farmhouse quiches for our guests. Fresh veggies taste so great! We have 4 tomatoe plants & each is sporting little green tomatoes. We'll be using those for our guests as well as soon as they are ripe.

And guess what??? The raspberries are blushing! Our 70 feet of raspberries will be ready in about 2 weeks for us & guests alike to enjoy right off the vines & baked in yummy treats. Can you think of anything that beats fresh raspberry cobblers, crisps & pies???

Everett Herald article on the Farmhouse

2009-05-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

The Farmhouse was featured in the Home & Garden section of the Everett Herald Newspaper yesterday, May 7th, 2009. We were interviewed & photographed in preparation & anticipation of the Whidbey Island Garden Tour. If you would like to see the article & see the photos, here's the link: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20090507/LIVING03/705079982
The Garden Tour will be Saturday, June 27th, 10:00 to 4:00. For information on tickets to tour all the gardens, please see the info in the article. Now we just have to pull all those weeds!

Sheep Shearing Tomorrow

2009-05-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

Fluffy & Muffy will be relieved of their heavy coats tomorrow. Watch for photos.

2009-04-27T13:06:00.000-07:00

2009-04-25T19:28:00.000-07:00

Taking it easy at the Farmhouse

a misty spring garden

2009-04-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

I've just been out in the garden. The tulip colors are vibrant during the misty drizzle--burgandy, pink, yellow and orangy-red with little droplets of water on their leaves, nestled in among the new green leaves of spring shrubs. Mt Fuji Cherry is in full bloom with billows of white blossoms heavy on its branches. Birds are inspecting the freshly painted bird houses, all up for rent in exchange for a song. Spring---I wish it could linger longer.

Welcome

2009-04-23T10:07:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our online journal and news. We'll highlight what we're enjoying at The Farmhouse, feature Whidbey Island farms and activities and keep in touch as spring blooms around us. We welcome your comments and questions. Look forward to updates and views from our serene, blossoming gardens and orchards.