Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

You are here: Home / Archives for Claudia

Crabapples

at by

Last night the temperature went down to 31 and there was frost on my car windshield this morning. Tonight? 34. On Saturday things will get back to normal and I think we will have officially turned the corner into Serious Spring.

I can’t wait. My sinuses can’t wait, as well.

I’m going to do some mowing today. Same mower as last year – with the real wheel drive broken. When we can afford to, we’ll replace it. But with Don’s car repairs and some other expenses needing to be dealt with first, we’ll just have to work with the mower as is. We have to mow in smaller increments, but we get it done.

As far as I can tell, we have two different kinds of crabapple trees on the property. You remember the crabapple that was cut down by an overzealous county employee? That was my favorite kind of crabapple and I miss that tree to this day. But I have discovered at least two younger trees that are the same kind as the one we lost. They are now blooming. They’re on the far side of the house.

The blooms are a deep pinkish red. As they begin to open, they turn pink.

The flower is white and pink.

Aren’t they lovely? I’m so happy to have found them. Actually, I found them last year. This year they’re larger and there are a lot more blooms. They bring a smile to my face, which is much needed as I read the news. Enough said. You know what I’m thinking.

There are lots of dandelions on our front lawn which also makes me happy, as bees depend on them in the early spring. And even when we mow, they come back very quickly. Speaking of bees, I’ve been keeping an eye on the catalpa tree where the honey bees often reside and I haven’t seen any so far.

I’m seeing more and more green on some of the trees in the distance. Hurrah! And I’m certainly seeing buds on all of the trees. The catalpas are always the last to leaf out.

Once tonight’s cold temps are a thing of the past, we’ll be saying goodbye to winter for good.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

 

Flowers, Working in the Garden, Remembering Mom

at by

Some flowering quince for you today. That particular bush has more flowers on it this year than I’ve ever seen. It’s quite beautiful (but thorny.) I took photos of the lilac buds and a robin’s egg I found on the driveway, but it was so breezy yesterday that everything was moving, so nothing was in focus.

I found the robin’s egg in the middle of the driveway. It had been dropped and you could see the yoke inside. I suppose some bird stole it. It made me sad.

Also found in the course of raking out the area where the weeping willow used to be: the long missing cap to the gas tank on our lawnmower. We looked and looked for it at the time it went missing and couldn’t find it.  So now we have a replacement should we ever lose the current cap that we had to buy two years ago.

We’ve been working a lot outside, I started cleaning out the area where the weeping willow once stood and, much to my surprise, Don jumped in and really did a great job of getting rid of much of the stump and digging out brambles. I got distracted by our neighbor across the street who came over to say hello after the long winter. Right before that, our next door neighbor drove down his driveway and we said hello to him. It’s always this way – everyone sort of retreats for the winter and then we reemerge in the spring. It was great catching up with Laura. We are so lucky to have them for neighbors.

I’ve been raking out more of the garden beds, trimming brambles/wild roses (which grow alarmingly quickly,) yanking little intruders in the big garden bed. I do a little every day. On Monday, we did too much, and then I did even more yesterday, so today is for rest.

We had below freezing temperatures overnight and will tonight, as well. Then, it looks like we’ll stay on the warmer side. I have yet to do anything on the porch – the only summery thing I’ve done is to add the cushion to the glider. No potted flowers or hanging plants yet and I’m thankful there aren’t or I would have been hauling them inside last night.

Today is the 10th anniversary of my mom’s passing. Ten years. How can that be? I miss her so much.

Love you, Mom.

Stay safe.

A Sunny Monday

at by

Is that the sun? Yes, it is!

Yesterday was rather cold and windy – a strange day. I did go out and mow the corral in the afternoon because Don was away for his gig and I was trying to fill up the day with activities. It only took about twenty minutes or so and now it looks much nicer out there.

As I look out the window from my perch in the den, I see little hints on green on some of the trees in the distance.  Gosh, there’s so much that needs to be done out there! In addition to more cleaning out of garden beds, I have some more pruning to do on the boxwoods, have to move the Adirondack chairs onto the porch, get out the cushions from their hiding place under the stairs, buy plants for the porch pots, etc.

I was raking out one of the beds the other day and a robin started that constant warning call – one that means I’m getting too close to a nest. She or he was in the vicinity of the secret garden, so I suspect nest making is happening somewhere. Though I did wonder where it could be as most of the trees have not leafed out. But it was definitely a warning, one I am very familiar with.

I saw two beautiful cardinals this morning as I stood, bleary-eyed, by the kitchen window. Those vivid splashes of red make me smile.

And I had my first groundhog sighting. I was upstairs in the bedroom making the bed and I glimpsed a large groundhog running under the cars toward the shed. It may be the guy that lives under the shed, I’m not sure. I’m hoping that we do not have to deal with babies this year. Despite their cuteness factor, they were a pain in the tush. I spent a lot of time trying to keep them out of the garden.

I had the idea to pose Ella alongside the canvas of The Lamb With The Party Hat. Normally, it hangs upstairs in the office. I love how it turned out! She seems a little unsure of this rather large lamb. She doesn’t know that, in reality, it’s just a wee little putz sheep.

I love her hair, which is very fine and curly. She was customized by Ferro Doll.

Finished a Daniel Silva yesterday and have started a new one. I think this might be the last one that I haven’t read, but I’m not sure. I have one more on hand that I suspect I might have read already. We’ll see.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

Disclosure/Privacy Policy can be found in the Navigation Bar under ‘About MHC.’

Also, I love receiving comments! I do, however, reserve the right to delete any comment that is in poor taste, offensive or is verging on spam. It’s my blog. If you’re a bot or a troll you’ll be blocked. Thanks!

Archives