Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Adventuring

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Lovely day with my husband yesterday. It was beautifully sunny and in the mid-sixties. We went to brunch at a favorite local restaurant and then proceeded to drive around randomly, adopting our “road trip” attitude. I still think about our trip across the country last year and I miss it; the adventure, being open to new experiences, stopping when someplace or thing looks interesting. We decided during that trip that adventuring with that attitude attracts wonderful experiences and people.

We had a taste of that yesterday. I felt my shoulders drop. So did Don.

We discovered a wonderful family run farm market, greenhouse, and wholesale vegetable farm called Davenport Farms.

Favorite thing of the day: this vintage cooler with that fabulous Art Deco font. Still in use after all these years. I love it.

We found some lovely pots and I bought a flat of pansies and some lavender.

I also found these, which made me gasp!

I haven’t thought about these in probably 40 years! I used to suck on these all the time. I love root beer and the flavor of Reed’s Root Beer is intense and long-lasting. It was like reuniting with an old friend! Obviously, I bought them and Don and I proceeded to drive with the windows down, sucking on root beer candies. Heaven. (I did some research – they were made in Chicago.)

We also had some great conversations with the staff. I’ll be going back for sure.

Also saw this in front of a local restaurant:

We tried it out, of course. Sadly, it isn’t for sale. Sigh.

We came home, unloaded the car, took it easy and then made dinner, topped off by watching The Post. Excellent movie and never more relevant than today.

And now I have to get ready to drop him off at the bus station.

I’m just happier when I’m with him. That’s a fact.

Meanwhile, not much is blooming here in the early spring, but the first batch of daffs are gorgeous.

And the lilac buds are getting fatter.

I’ll close with a remembrance of my dear mom who died four years ago today. I love you, Mom. I miss you every day.

Happy Tuesday.

I Love Spring

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My one lone grape hyacinth surprises me each spring. It pops up between these rocks which line the garden bed by the porch. It’s tiny, so I often miss its entrance into the world until I happen to walk by and – there it is! Whether it self-seeded or was planted by a past owner of the cottage, I’m not sure. But I love it.

Don is home. His bus was about an hour late last night. Apparently, people were leaving the city in droves, so getting to the Lincoln Tunnel took forever. We’re having a slow morning. Looking out the kitchen door, we’re seen blue jays, robins, sparrows, a chipmunk, squirrels, and a bunny rabbit. Our morning Disney movie.

I broke my promise to myself yesterday and cleared out two more garden beds. So I was tuckered out at the end of the day. I’ll take a day off from all of that today because Don is home. My back will be thanking me!

The daffodils in full flower. Because these sit on the the edge of the woods, the flowers are always on one side only, facing the sun. Aren’t they pretty?

Hearing the birds singing joyfully as I write this makes me smile.

Happy Birthday to William Shakespeare. He’s brought a lot of work my way.

Happy Monday.

Porching and Henry

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After a long winter, the last two sunny and warmish days have been most welcome! In the early evening, I sat on the glider with the warmth of the sun on my back and it was heaven. There are no potted plants yet, no hanging plants, no leaves on the trees. But I’ve got my porch back.

I continued to work on cleaning up the porch, sweeping every corner, cleaning off the ‘greenhouse’ sign, cleaning the former kitchen island, which is now…what? potting bench? porch dresser? I’m not sure.

It was already very chippy when we brought it outside, and we covered it with a tarp for the winter, but it’s definitely much chippier than it was. I don’t mind; you know I like that look. At some point, when it gets to be too much, I will probably repaint it with something more durable like porch paint.

I also made some more ‘cleanup’ inroads on the big garden bed. I have yet to clean up the memorial garden bed or the garden beds on the far side of the house, but this week will offer plenty of time to tackle that.

For today, I’ll take it easy. Don is arriving this evening and I don’t want to feel as tired as I have the past two nights when I pick him up at the bus station. Luckily, the weather is supposed to be lovely tomorrow, so he can really enjoy his time here.

I saw a bunny outside the kitchen window this morning. And last night, I ran and grabbed my telephoto lens so I could get a picture of someone dining way over on the other side of the driveway, under the lilac. (Taken from inside the living room or he would have run away.)

That’s our boy!

Happy Sunday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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