Brrr...It was only 9 degrees this morning when we woke up to
build a fire in our wood burning stove in the conservatory. When our guests this weekend (and all winter days) awoke and came to breakfast, they were greeted with a cheerful, crackling fire. Only problem today: It was 6: a.m. when Craig built the fire, and he discovered he was out of wood. That meant he had to go to the wood barn, traipse through a 4-ft. high snow drift, and make a half-dozen trips to fill the wood bin in the plant room. Our guests 
LOVE sitting in the big wooden rockers in front of the fire, especially on cold, snowy days. It is a memorable experience. (Craig likes to do the same thing, and Rosalie always finds him snoozing in front of the toasty fire.)
This view is due north from our property: As you can tell from the winter view, we have quite an expanse to enjoy. In fact, there are over 175 miles of mainly 
wilderness north of us and beyond the three mountain ranges. Corning, New York is the next community of any size north of us!
Look at our Garden Railroad. {Garden Scale, 1:28} You can't 
see much of it under the snow, but if you look closely, you'll spy an outline of tracks at its highest elevation, and a part of a bridge. The remainder is buried 
under about 11" of snow. There is a train hiding in the tunnel created by the log. We hope it is warm & safe in there!
Craig spent over six hours removing snow from our lane (and some of the neighbors' lanes, too!) yesterday. We had guests 
arrive the night of the blizzard from New York. They came by Amtrak, and they were very excited about coming to a country Inn during a raging snow storm (the snow flakes were falling horizontally due to the wind). They couldn't imagine anything more romantic. They immediately relaxed by one of our fireplaces on the main floor, and then snuggled by the peninsula fireplace (viewable on three sides) in their English Manor Suite.
Note the steeple with the Eagle wind vane on top--and its 
mirror image shadowed against one of our roofs. The steeple is fascinating, it actually has approximately eight feet of head room inside. Craig and one of our neighbors, Ray, have often stood in it. (Craig always hides Ray's Christmas present in the steeple and tells him to go check something or other up there. Ray by now knows to expect to find Santa's been in there for him!)
This drift has a perfect, beautiful, 
graceful curve crossing right over the Romance Garden's sidewalk at a 90 degree angle. We were amazed at its height, graceful curve, and razor-sharp ridge line.
Hard to
believe the swimming pool was the site of people sunbathing and swimming a few months ago. You certainly wouldn't want to now!
A knee-high pathway leads to the front door. Snow thickly blankets all of our outdoor features. If you listen carefully, you can hear snowmobiles 
zipping through the hills and fields. This is the time for skiing, (we have great cross country trails here!), tubing, snow boarding, and of course watching those ubiquitous snowmobiles!
Front Door view after the storm. 
Note the imprint of the door on the snow drift wall.
More snow due next Tuesday or Wednesday. Come enjoy Annville Inn's SECRET SEASON!
Thank you for reading our blog entry about our snow storm. Those of you that have been
here before will know about areas we spoke of here, but they may look unfamiliar to you if you visited us in the summer! Remember Annville Inn B&B as your place for rest, relaxation, inspiration, recharging your batteries. We are already booking for spring and summer, but there is also ample time to book for our SECRET SEASON now through April. We'll see you soon! Rosalie George, Your Innkeeper
