Blog

The Beat Goes On

The weather in Benezette has been perfect for wildlife viewing. However, the wildlife are being less than cooperative at In The Sticks Cabins.

The flowers on the other hand! Well, they’ve come to play ball! I’ve found two in the backyard and learned a little about them (this is where you get to learn too!):

This is Scarlet Beebalm.

Scarlet Beebalm is a member of the mint family and was used by the Oswego Native Americans to make tea from the leaves. The Beebalm is pollinated by ruby-throated hummingbirds (which! Yay! I have got to get a hummingbird feeder!) and butterflies.

This appears to be a Blazing Star.

The Blazing Star can grow to be SIX. FEET. TALL!! They also attract butterflies, bumble bees and hummingbirds! Native Americans used it to treat swelling and snake bites. I’ll see if I can get in any closer and get a better picture, now that I know more.

We did get to see the momma deer and the fawns who are living out back – turns out they have a whole little posse back there. Look at the party they were having next door!

This coming weekend is the 100 Mile Yard Sale. The sale runs through Clearfield, Cameron and Elk county but is headquartered in Karthaus. Participants are asked to pay $10 and display their official participant sign. We’ve set up the past two years and continue to be blown away at how far people travel to attend. Last year we met a mother and daughter who drove from Michigan!

This year, there are 95 participants listed in the directory! We’re going to take a small lap this year and see what we can find.

We’re also welcoming our first guests this weekend! So, that’s the most exiting part for us! I’ll be working on getting an upcoming events page on our website – but for those of you wondering when you should come – the answer is always! There is always something to do in Benezette, even if it’s just sit on the front porch!

Ready…Set…Roll

Oh hey, you guyyssss! It’s time! It’s official – In The Sticks Cabins is ready to welcome you and your friends (or family or both!) to The Sapling!

We have spent the last year (listen, building a house primarily with one dude will take longer than you think. Promise.) of weekends in Benezette getting this rental ready to go.

We are thrilled with the results and hope you will be too!

All reservations will be handled online with credit card payments due at the time the reservation is made.

We hope to see you in Benezette soon!

She Works Down at The Snake Farm

What a busy, busy weekend in Benezette! The 50th Annual Snake Hunt at the Sinnemahoning Sportsmen’s Club was going on all weekend long so we checked that out on Saturday. Then, we headed over to the Elk Country Visitor Center to check out the arts & craft festival.

Then it was back to the cabin for official cabin business. For me, that’s finishing touches. I’ve gotten most of the art on the walls, made the beds and started putting away the pots and pans and dishes!

Living Room

Bedrooms

Kitchen & Bath

The husband has been fighting with digging the final power line for the sewer system. Two weeks ago he busted the scoop off of the bracket that holds it to the skid steer. He got that welded back on but now the hydraulics are acting up. He finally broke down and rented a little Ditch Witch (which, come on, how fun is that to say!) and got it dug and the lines run. We’ll see if she powers up this weekend.

It’s almost rental time folks! If you haven’t yet, join our mailing list so you’re in the know!

Finally – we saw quite a bit of wildlife on our escapades.

Uptown Down Home American Kids

We celebrated Memorial Day as we’d like to celebrate EVERY holiday – In the Sticks – also known as Benezette.

The coming weeks are focused on details. We brought the refrigerator, microwave and dining room table with us to get the kitchen and dining area close to finished. The stove was delivered this week. Once that’s in place, a few decorations to go on the wall and those two areas can be checked off the list!

I love this dining room table. We’re one of those families that eats all meals at the table, so this was an important feature for me. The MIL helped me put the chairs together, which took approximately a million hours. (I assure you they’re sturdy, I sat on each one to check our work!)

The bathroom is also just a few details away from being marked complete. I was a hand towel hook short, so we picked that up to go on the wall by the light switches. Check out the towel hooks – they’re sticks! Get it! In the Sticks (Cabins)?!

The husband’s family was in town too, so we took some time to relax by the fire. We made s’mores for the first time in ages. We’re Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup instead of chocolate bars in our s’mores people. MMMM. They were so good!

The husband and FIL built an awesome fire even with wet-ish wood!

And of course, no trip to the cabin would be complete without a few elk sightings. These three hung out most of the weekend! Isn’t it interesting how two of them are still so fuzzy and one is not? According to Idaho Public Television: Twice a year, elk shed every hair on their body. Their spring shedding is noticeable because old winter hair dangles like long shaggy beards from their necks and sides. By July their winter coat is completely replaced by their summer coat. This coat has just one layer of hair.

Man on The Moon

The full flower blue moon was beautiful in Benezette!

This past weekend was BEAUTIFUL in Benezette! Our sweet rental cabin is coming along so nicely inside that we were able to spend some much needed time out doors!

I even got that great shot of the Saturday night full moon! It was a blue moon, which, doesn’t mean it looks blue. Instead that means it’s the second full moon in a month. Fun Fact!

The husband pushed around quite a bit of dirt so that I could get grass seed planted. There was rain in the forecast for Sunday, so the timing seemed perfect. I hope it took before the birds could eat it!

We also got the side lights up on the porch and hung the cool elk welcome sign that my sister-in-law got us.

Who doesn’t want to sit on this porch!?

We got the bathroom door hung and I started stocking the kitchen! Yay!

And then – we went looking for elk! We didn’t have to go far – they were just around the corner!

The long weekend has some furniture and heating/cooling system installation on the agenda. Plus, I think the bathroom will be finished (I was going to say move-in-ready, but that’s weird for a bathroom, right?), which means we can cross it off the list!

Be safe out there folks!