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Daffodils Popping Up!

Everything is turning green, buds are on the trees!

Took these pictures today…

Well, it’s not at the Greenville Inn!

We view “a la carte” as meaning: “Dining Your Way”!

When we go on vacation ourselves, we steer away from  “prix fixe” menus because we rarely get what we want (usually a very limited menu) and not very generous portions.  Some people feel like they are getting a “bargain” when they get a predetermined number of courses…but is it a bargain if you aren’t getting full portions or food you want?

When we offer packages that include a predetermined number of courses, (“Stay & Dine” or  “Shop, Stay & Dine”) you can be guaranteed you can choose from our FULL  (a la carte) menu and the portions are not just a “sampling”.

So, next time you are deciding on any restaurant…don’t let the “Prix Fixe Bargain Factor” dictate your decision…choose a restaurant whose menu has many choices with full portions…life is short…why not have it “your way?”

We are working on our Summer 2010 menu with a chef that some of you might already know…

Check back to see the new menu and who the chef is!

"Dining Your Way"

Delectable Duck!

Every year, a local business sponsors the ”Ice-Out” contest at Moosehead Lake.  This year’s sponsor is Currier’s Flying Service.

The official ”ice-out” on Moosehead Lake is determined when the Katahdin steamship can safely travel from the East Cove to Northeast Carry. According to the Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce’s records, the earliest recorded ice-out date was April 14, 1945 and the latest was May 29, 1878. This year with the early warming trend, many locals were specualting that there would be a new record, but as of April 14th, even a tie was unlikely. There were several nights that had been below freezing and ice was actually accumulating instead of melting! I took this photo on April 14th, and you can still see the ice spanning across the East Cove. But it is now official- “Ice-Out” is April 15th, 10:33 am! Ice on East Cove on April 14, 2010

We have developed 12 packages that give you value and great choices:

Area's Acknowledged Fine Dining Spot

Shop, Stay & Dine: Need an excuse to shop? Let us give you one…Stay three nights in our historic inn, choose one evening for your “3-course dinner for two” and receive a $20.00 gift certificate to be used at one of our unique, local shops.

See a Moose or Go Again for Free! You want to get up close to the largest animal in the north woods? Let us arrange a moose tour with a local Maine guide. You will visit remote ponds and paddle canoes or kayaks right into the prime moose habitat. We are so sure you will see a moose that if you don’t, the guide will take you again for free.

Spring Fling For Repeat Guests! Have you stayed with us before? Come back and stay in the months of May or June for 3 nights…and the 3rd night is on us! Enjoy our warm hospitality and award-winning inn. All rooms include breakfast, private baths, and just too many amenities to list. May and June are the best months to see MOOSE!

Stay 4, Get More! Get more when you stay with us for 4 nights…you get 50% off the 5th night. We are offering this remarkable savings during the “high season” (June-October), so book early to reserve the exact room, cottage or suite you want! Our sumptuous breakfast included each morning. Let us book an excursion for you!

Stay & Dine: 3 night accommodation package with two evenings of fine dining included starting June 28th.  Pick 2 evenings (excluding Sunday) during your 3 night stay, and enjoy a “four-course dinner for 2″(from our full menu) both evenings. Breakfast is included all 3 mornings.

“Exhilarating” White Water Rafting: Do something “exhilarating” with our Registered Maine Guide Service that offers full day white water rafting trips with lunch included or one half day river kayaking trips.

Pamper Yourself Getaway: After a day outdoors, pamper yourself and your partner with a rejuvenating massage, a bottle of champagne and nibble on some chocolate covered fruit…all in the privacy of your room or suite. This 2 night package includes sumptuous breakfast each morning and all our special amenities to make this a special getaway.

Honeymoon Hideaway

Honeymoon Hideaway: Let us make your honeymoon a most memorable one.  Enjoy 4 nights in a room or suite of your choice.  Your stay includes breakfast every morning, fresh flowers, a commemorative CD of romantic music,  a basket of assorted cheeses and crackers and a bottle of champagne or non-alcoholic sparkling juice.

Romantic Getaway: 2 night stay and a basket w/assorted cheese, crackers, candy & nuts, one bottle Brut champagne, fresh flowers, breakfast each morning, commemorative CD of romantic music.

Amazing views year-round

Winter Wonderland: Stay with us for 3 nights and get the 3rd night for free.  Not only are the prices lower during the months of November thru April, but you get a free night!

Some of my mother's Pysanky eggs

Every Easter, I display my mother’s treasured Ukrainian eggs that she decorated over 20 years ago.  Although my mother was 100% Welsh, one of her hobbies was creating these amazing eggs, called Pysanky.

Pysanky is an ancient and beautiful form of folk art from the Ukraine. It is the art of decorating eggs using beeswax and dyes.  In Ukrainian households, near Eastertime, eggs are created as gifts for family and friends.

It's all in the details!

Hot wax is applied to the egg using a kistka. The kistka is a tool used to draw hot wax onto the egg. Kistkas can be purchased, or built by the user. Some are simply a stick with wire holding a tiny stick perpendicular at the end of the larger piece. This type of kistka is dipped in hot wax. Another type is a copper or brass cone attached to the end of a stick. Wax is then placed in the cone. The cone is heated until the wax melts and flows out the end of the cone.

More of mom's eggs

You begin the design by drawing on a plain white egg with hot beeswax. These lines will protect the white when egg is dyed. When the designs to be white are complete, the egg is dipped into yellow dye and then dried. The kistka is used to draw the designs to remain yellow and then the egg is dipped into the next dye bath. The process continues, alternating waxing designs and using dyes that progressively get darker. The most popular Pysanky, end with the black dye. Once the black dye is dry,  the egg is held over the side of a candle flame and gently continue to wipe off the melted wax revealing the beautifully designed multicolored egg. The final process is to seal the egg with a coating of shellac or varnish. A small board with three nail groupings (which my dad made for my mother)  holds the suspended eggs while they dry.

An Easter display of eggs & bunnies

My mother would work on these eggs year round.  You must have a very steady hand and a lot of patience.  Each of these eggs would take her over 5 hours to create.  Some symbols and designs have specific meanings, but there is much room for your own creative expression.  My mother designed eggs for each of my daughters which are personalized with their names.

More Eggs!

To be honest, I attempted this art, but I became discouraged after I broke my first egg which represented over 3 hours of work!  I still have all my mother’s tools and dyes…so maybe someday I will have the patience of my mother…

So each year, I lovingly place these works-of-art in Easter baskets where they can be admired by all.   Thanks Mom!

Buckets gathering sap from a Maple Tree

In New England, maple sugaring is the first sign that spring is on its way!  Maine is one of the very few places where the sap from a maple tree can be tapped and then turned into maple syrup.  This is part of what makes Maine and Maine Maple Syrup so special.

Maple sap cannot be harvested just anywhere there are maple trees.  Certain weather conditions are necessary in order for the sap to flow properly for harvesting. The required pressure level needed to get the sap flowing is created when the tree freezes and thaws. Thus, warm days and cold nights make for optimum maple sugaring conditions.

When the pressure from a maple tree thawing reaches a certain level, sap is collected. This pressure allows the sap to flow from the small holes that are made to collect the sap.

Most of the sap is still gathered the old-fashioned way, in buckets hung from trees, and boiled down to syrup over wood fires. Many of the larger producers use labor saving modern technology. They gather the sap with plastic tubing strung all the way from the trees, gravity fed to the “sugar house”.  Once the sap flows from the tree, the sap must be processed within a few hours or it will spoil, therefore syrup makers work around the clock.

From holding tanks (which may hold as much as a thousand gallons), the freshly collected sap (usually about 3% sugar) is fed continuously into the evaporator. There it is kept constantly boiling as it becomes more concentrated. When the syrup reaches a temperature of 7 degrees above the boiling point of water, the sugar-density is perfect.  Immediately, the syrup is filtered to remove particles of “sugar sand.” These, although harmless, would make the syrup cloudy. After it is clear, the finished syrup is packed in sterilized containers and sealed, ready to be enjoyed around the world.

The syrup is sometimes dark and rich, or sometimes pale, gold and delicate.  Similar to wine, much depends on the soil composition and terrain, as well as the wind and the weather.

It takes approximately 40 years for a sugar maple tree to reach tapping size.  In a good year, one large tree may produce as much as 60 gallons of sap without suffering any injury. That may seem like quite a lot, until you realize that the sap will be reduced to only about 1½ gallons of syrup!

“Maine Maple Sunday” is held every year on the fourth Sunday in March, which is March 28^th this year.

This event is when Maine maple producers open their doors to the public to demonstrate maple syrup making.  The Maine Maple Producers Association has created an interactive map of participating sugarhouses.   Enjoy this experience personally with free samples of maple syrup on ice cream, mini pancakes and muffins, maple candy, door prizes and much more at some of Maine’s best maple syrup producers.

Smell the aroma as boiling sap fills the air and is transformed into sweet Pure Maine Maple Syrup.

Contact us for participating businesses in our area

Buckets collecting the pure gold!

Maple Tree Tapped

Fireworks Over East Cove of Moosehead Lake

We just had the Snofest Fireworks on the East Cove of Moosehead Lake.  We took these pictures from our verandah…

talk about a bird’s-eye-view!

Sparkling Fireworks over Moosehead Lake

Winter Fireworks over Moosehead Lake

Fireworks over East Cove

Exhilarating White Water Rafting

“Exhilarating” White Water Rafting

Do something exhilarating with our Registered Maine Guide Service that offers full day white water rafting trips with lunch included or ½ day river kayaking trips.  The guide service is located less than one mile from our inn and they conveniently transport you to & from your destination.  The Greenville Inn’s sumptuous breakfast is included each morning.  Starting price for a 3-night package, with trip included, is $270. per person, double occupancy. All equipment provided. State-of-the-art self-bailing rafts, Type V lifejackets, paddles, helmets, all safety equipment, transportation, Registered Maine Guide in every boat, & photo slideshow of the day’s adventure (available to purchase at an additional cost). Wetsuits are available at an additional cost and may be required on some trips.  Video is available on any trip at an additional cost and must be requested in advance.

Subject to availability, double occupancy, tax & gratuities not included.

Available May 1, 2010- Oct. 11, 2010

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