Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Flowering, Reading

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At the very beginning of spring, I noticed feathery leaves growing in the corral. They looked a lot like yarrow. I have some yarrow that self-seeded growing in the chicken wire fence garden, where I plant morning glories and zinnias. So I waited and watched them grow and when it came time to start mowing, I mowed around them.

Yep. It’s yarrow. I’ve tried to take a picture that shows you how beautiful they look in the corral, but try as I might, I can’t get one. This is the best I can do at the moment.

There are more plants growing along the fence line.

It’s like I suddenly have a mini-meadow. I hope they come back next year.

The lavender that I potted is quite tall now and flowers have started to appear.

The catalpa is in bloom. I’m sure the other catalpas up in the woods are also in bloom, I just haven’t seen them yet. I was on the porch yesterday and the scent of the flowers wafted my way. Heavenly.

It got windy later in the day and there are a lot of flowers on the ground. Today, we’re due for some rain and storms. And then there will be more flowers on the ground. Short lived, these blooms. I can’t rescue them, they don’t do well in a vase, but I’ll rescue my peonies if necessary.

Isn’t that a beautiful flower?

Rose update (these blooms last about two days, by the way.)

I mowed yesterday because it has to be done. I did pretty well and am feeling a bit better. There’s still more mowing to be done, but I’m pacing myself. I’m also reading the latest Lee Child on my iPad. A novel. I’ve been on such a long stretch of not being able to concentrate on anything other than nonfiction, so this makes me happy.

Meredith uses her iPad all the time and that’s what inspired me to dig mine out the other day. It had been so long that I had forgotten that I had my Kindle books downloaded there. It has a bigger screen than my Kindle (where that little piece of technology is at the moment, I have no idea) and I think it’s easier to read. Anyway, I was inspired to visit Amazon and I downloaded a few books, one of which was Lee Child’s latest Jack Reacher, which was published last November. I’ve read all of them, but hadn’t read that one. Lee Child’s style is so straight-forward. It’s in the first person and Jack Reacher is no-nonsense, so it isn’t so heavily written that I might drift away, if you know what I mean. I’m more than halfway through. Maybe this will be the breakthrough I need.

I can’t even talk about what is happening to our country and our moral standing in the world, or the cages in which immigrants are being held, or the separation of children from their parents. ICE equals Gestapo. Each day brings more assaults on the principles we hold dear, the compassion we should hold dear, the rule of law – much of it being done by ‘faux’ Christians. We won’t even get into the glorification of murderous dictators. Call your Reps. Demand change. And vote.

I need an escape. I swear, there are times I’d like to move to Canada. My mom was born there. Three out of my four grandparents were born there. Maybe I could just slip across the border?

Just kidding. Sort of.

Alternatively, living off the grid sounds increasingly tempting. And that is something I’m not kidding about.

Sigh. Anyway, if I write about it, I get more angry and I need to stay calm. Breathe deep.

Happy Wednesday.

Thoughts on a Tuesday

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I’m still at the cottage.

I didn’t go into the city on Sunday because I wasn’t feeling well. Sinus/allergy crap. We decided to wait a day, but I was still under the weather yesterday, so – though disappointing – I stayed home. NYC takes a lot of energy and I didn’t have enough on hand.

I’m going in next weekend, though, and soon Don will be home. Time is flying. This is a tough time for everyone in the show. After talking to Don about it, I called it The Long Goodbye. They know it’s closing, but it’s still running. Every show is bittersweet. Don will miss his life in the city, of that I’m sure. On the other hand, he’s tired and emotionally drained and he longs to be home.

The day after closing, they fly to Washington DC to do A Capitol Fourth on PBS. It’s now going to be PR for the tour instead of the Broadway run, which doesn’t start for over a year and, most likely, will not involve most – if any – of this cast. So it’s all very strange and topsy-turvy. Then Don will come back to the city and we’ll pack up and be out of the apartment on July 8th.

I have to work on anger, resentment, and jealousy. Anger that it’s closing.  And resentment and jealousy come to the surface when I see other shows heading for long runs – shows that I don’t get, am not drawn to, and am flummoxed as to their popularity. Anger also about the treatment of Jimmy Buffett, who isn’t taken seriously and is clearly considered an ‘outsider’ by many in the Broadway community – reminding me of cliques and high school.

Oh, and anger at the mean-spirited critics. On the other hand, there were reviews that were glowing and I’m grateful for them and for the audiences who stand and cheer and sing along every performance.

It’s all stuff that will fade in time, but I have to do my part to let it go.

I wanted a long run for Don, who loves his role, loves the show. We’d hoped to finally get ahead financially, but that isn’t going to happen – at least not with this show. That’s tremendously disappointing for us.

Perspective. That’s what’s needed. And I’ll find it. I always do.

Thanks for listening.

(I’ve edited this a bit. Some opinions that I have should be kept to myself!)

Happy Tuesday.

Sunday

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A quick post this morning as I’m getting ready to head into the city.

The other day I saw two groundhogs emerge onto the shed ramp. They proceeded to play with each other like animals do, wrestling, standing on their hind legs and batting at each other.

Has Henry had more kids? I’m not sure, but they definitely emerged from under the shed. One of them looked older than the other, so perhaps one was a parent. The bigger one sure looks a lot like Henry.

I was only able to get a few pictures with my  special lens – they were way across the yard.

Gosh darn it, they were cute. We’ve had babies before but I usually see some sign of them when they’re very small.

Peony update:

We’re not supposed to have rain until Wednesday, so they should stay intact for a while.

I’ll try to post from the city. I’m not taking my laptop but Don has one. Or maybe I’ll take it. I haven’t decided yet. If you don’t hear from me tomorrow and Tuesday, I’ll be back on Wednesday. I’m starting to think it’s healthy to take a day or two off every once in a while.

Happy Sunday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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