Broiling hot......

We've been in the midst of a heat wave here (as if this kind of heat isn't expected in this state during summer months?). Temperatures have been 100 degrees and over, for days on end now. The chickens stay in the shade underneath the bushes for most of the day, and only little PittyPat has been laying eggs in this heat. She's the smallest of the four hens, but the most reliable egg-layer. The cats are inside all day long.... Gatsby goes out at night before we go to bed and he does his cat-patrol all night long, coming into the house again after he eats his breakfast out on the porch. Actually, Sweet Pea and Mickey don't go out at all anymore-- they've been in the house since we started seeing snakes in the yard.

I saw a young deer out in the field this afternoon, walking by the pond (empty of water since we haven't had a good rain in the longest time). I opened the gate of the front pasture... maybe the deer will see that there's a fountain filled with water in the front courtyard. I fill it up every morning so the birds have drinking and bathing water. And I'm sure the raccoons, possums, and heaven-only-knows-what-else find that water fountain after dark as well.

We drove to a nearby Bed & Breakfast today...... there's a gazebo there on the grounds that's identical to the one that we have. My husband wanted to see how it was built.... ours needs a bit of repair and he wanted to look closely at the other structure to compare it to ours. The B&B was on a property of over 200 acres... which made our 23 acres seem small. Of course, when we got back home here, our property isn't small at all... it's all perspective and proportion, I guess.

We were talking to the B&B owner about the work and profits of running such a business. She smiled when we asked her about profit. She said there weren't any... you just about break even, when you take into account the people you have to hire (unless you want to do everything yourself, which is impossible) and the cost of extra liability insurance and upkeep. She said that the B&B money just allows her to live on that land and enjoy it all. So of course I was thinking that how can you enjoy anything if you're working from sun-up to sun-down to make all of your guests feel welcome and comfortable. Just this week alone, she's hosting a group celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary, and then a wedding party. She said we'd be amazed at how many couples go there to get married in her gazebo.

When we bought this property, we had no intention of running a B&B business.... but with the size of the house and the number of bedrooms with private bathrooms, it can certainly be done. I'd rather not. My husband already has a job.... running a B&B would be another job..... and it would tie us to the property big-time. And this house for me is already a job... a B&B without having live-in help would be a slow death.

We have stayed in Bed & Breakfasts when we've traveled...... and loved all of them. Never did give a thought to the work that would go into such a business. Everything just looked so lovely and peaceful...... and we felt at-home, rather than just at a hotel. For myself, I couldn't imagine having people we didn't know in this house.... it's our home, not a business, and that's the way I'd like to keep it. Just the thought of all the extra laundry would be overwhelming-- all the extra towels and sheets.... and there I would be, in the laundry room with all of them, and not a house-elf in sight to run the washer and dryer.