Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Scout: Who The Heck Is In My Corral? (And Other Things)

March 25, 2013 at 8:08 am by Claudia

The other evening, around dusk, Scout started barking while looking out the window. There was, shall we say, an extra urgency to her barks which brought me to the window to see just what the heck was going on.

An intruder was in her dog corral:

deer

deereating

The nerve! At the end of a tough winter, that grass must have been enticing. Scout, of course, kept up her outraged barking. When I knocked on the window (these photos were all taken through the kitchen windows) the deer calmly looked at me and then resumed eating.

deerstaring2

My initial response was that I’d never seen a deer inside of the corral before. And Don remarked dryly that he would bet they were in there more than we knew. He’s probably right. Eventually, Don gently opened the door and the deer took off over the fence.

One early morning when Don was away in California – it must have been around 4 am or so – I got up to go to the bathroom and I could see the silhouettes of deer moving quietly through the back yard. I remember it distinctly because I was half asleep and the movements of the deer seemed other-worldly and almost magical – where you’re left wondering if you dreamed the whole thing. It was real and it was indeed magical. A vivid, wonderful memory.

I love deer. They are beautiful, gentle creatures. They share this land with us.

On this Monday? Snow showers. Oh Spring, where the heck are you? I’ve been feeling the blues lately and I know it’s because I need to get outside, feel the sun and start working in the garden. This winter has seemingly gone on forever. There is much I have to do before I leave for Hartford and the lingering winter is not helping things.

Ah, well.

1000gifts

I won this book in a giveaway from Mary at Ms. Redo. I’ve seen it mentioned on many blogs and I must admit I’m intrigued. I look forward to exploring it. Thank you, Mary!

The crochet you see in this photo? It’s my experiment in crocheting with thread, like my grandmother used to. The problem is that the hook I am using is too big. I’ll have to buy a smaller one. Nevertheless, it’s awfully delicate and pretty.

Today’s egg cups:

eggcups9

Egg cups with feet. The one on the left is the real deal – made by Carlton Ware of England and called Walking Ware. Such silliness!

The one on the right is not marked as Carlton Ware, but it’s pretty cute, nonetheless.

And for those of you who read my guidelines for posting on A Favorite Thing, the part about leaving a comment was only about that particular meme. Not about my other posts! I love your comments and they make me happy, but this is pressure-free commenting zone, my friends.

Happy Monday.

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Filed Under: A favorite thing, animals, crochet, egg cups, Fellow bloggers, giveaway 50 Comments

Potpourri Thursday

January 3, 2013 at 9:21 am by Claudia

snowtracks1

snowtracks2

It’s been busy out there on my front lawn. Lots of activity. And, no, those aren’t my tracks. One thing I love about the snow in the winter is that I can see the evidence of the animals that live with us here on the property. Mostly deer, I suspect, but also bunny rabbits and other mysterious critters. I have a feeling they might have been munching on my boxwood – that seems to be the direction in which those tracks are headed.

It is very cold here. Very cold. I need to hack at some of the ice on the driveway but I haven’t as of yet. My neighbor did a great job of snow blowing the driveway so I could get home on Sunday night. Thanks, Fred! What a relief it was to be able to drive up, park the car and make my way up to the house (relatively) easily.

msscout

Someone didn’t do well with boarding. I think that the techs at the animal hospital thought she was doing okay because she was relatively still and wasn’t barking much. But when I got her home on Monday morning, she was extremely agitated and nervous and it took several hours to calm her down. She wasn’t herself. And I noticed a large area of red skin on her elbow where she had been chewing – something she has started to do when she is anxious. I know my girl and she was very upset. I quickly came to the conclusion that, at the age of 14 and after years of never being boarded, she just can’t handle it. She lost her brother this year. She was very sick twice. Her dad is away. It’s too much for her. So I will take her with me next week. Gulp. We’ll be staying in an apartment building. She’ll have to do her business on walks in the park. I’ve arranged for an apprentice to sit with her during the time I have to be at Tech/Dress and 1st Preview – so that she has some company and doesn’t bark out of anxiety.

It will be an adventure.

afghan

Last night, I started weaving in all the ends of yarn in the afghan. I think I’ll crochet some sort of edging and then it will be finished. I’m awaiting a delivery of quilt batting and backing fabric. Once that arrives, I’ll baste the 3 layers together and my next project will officially be the hand quilting of our bed quilt. I need something to work on in the evenings with Don away.

As I wove in yarn ends last night, I watched Platinum Blonde on TCM. Have you ever seen that movie? It stars Jean Harlow, Loretta Young, and Robert Williams. Who is Robert Williams, you say? That’s what Don and I said the first time we watched this wonderful film directed by Frank Capra. This guy was one of the best film actors I’ve ever seen. Simply one of the best. I was stunned the first time I saw him. Naturally, I wondered why I had never heard of him. The tragedy is that this was his first starring role in a film and everyone involved with it knew he would become a star. He steals the film from everyone else on the screen. This was going to be his big break. The powers-that-be were grooming him for stardom. Three days after the film opened, at the age of 37, his appendix ruptured and he died of peritonitis.

Heartbreaking. And Jean Harlow would be dead 6 years later from renal failure. Such talent, both of them, and gone so young. I find this sort of loss haunting. Such untimely deaths with so much potential unrealized. If you can ever watch Platinum Blonde, do. Williams was brilliant. What a tragic loss. Thank goodness this brilliant performance is preserved on film. At least he has that. And we have that.

tripod

I’ve been playing around with my new tripod. That was the present from Don that I opened via Skype on Christmas morning.  This one is pretty fancy and I look forward to more tripod adventures. I used it to take that photo of Scout.

I haven’t taken down my Christmas decorations yet, mostly because I have to go out to the shed to get the boxes. Did I mention it was cold, icy and slippery? I may do it today.

We’ll see.

Happy Thursday.

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Filed Under: animals, camera, Christmas, crochet, quilting, Scout, snow 48 Comments

A Walk, A Gift, An Update, A Party

August 27, 2012 at 9:15 am by Claudia

Lately, we’ve been taking long walks on our local rail trail. We don’t take nearly enough advantage of it. We’re trying to change that. A brisk walk is good for the soul, the body and the mind.

The sun was bright – it was high noon – and I was shooting with my iPhone – so there’s a bit of graininess.

A couple of days earlier, these beauties were off in the distance; yesterday they were right by the fence.

Could that baby be any more adorable? And mom had the most beautiful eyes. I’m glad I’m a vegetarian.

That’s the ridge in the background. We have that same view, especially in the wintertime, from our little cottage.

And look who we found on the path:

It’s been a week now since we lost Riley. Each new day brings a small measure of healing. I’ve been watching Scout closely and I can tell she is not herself. She looks for Riley. She does that nesting thing – pawing at the rug – far more than she used to, and she does it a bit obsessively. She used to do it on the rug in the den. Now she also does it on the rug in the living room where Riley spent most of his time. She’s very clingy. She’s anxious. She doesn’t understand why Riley isn’t here and it is deeply upsetting to her. We are showering her with attention and love. But the poor thing is a bit lost and lonely for her brother. So am I.

My friend Judy sent me a package which arrived on Saturday. Enclosed was a beautiful sympathy card with a little note saying “these might bring a smile to your face.”

 You’re darn right they do! You know I love these little elfin creatures called Nisse. If you remember, Judy handmade one for me a few months back when we did a swap. I sent her one of my Obsession Scarves. This was such a wonderful surprise. Thank you, Judy. By the way, Judy has a new blog called 20 North Ora (the same name as her wildly successful Etsy shop) and I know she’d love it if you dropped by.

I hope all of my readers find their way to my new site here on WordPress. If they’ve subscribed via Google Friend Connect, they are not going to get my feed. If you know of someone looking for the blog, please send her/him my way. It’s the same URL and it’s easy to subscribe to my feed.

This Saturday, September 1st, will be the first A Favorite Thing party. I sure hope you can join in. Every week, we will share a favorite thing; whether it’s a cherished antique, a book, a piece of furniture, a vintage find. It could be a camera or a laptop or a new washing machine (goodness knows, my laptop and camera are among my favorite things!) I will post the necessary link information on Friday evening around 8 pm and it will stay open for linking through Sunday.

Quick question: Are these photos too large for you? I’m experimenting – they are a little large for my 13″laptop screen but I know readers like large photos. Let me know what you think. Update: I think they might be too large, so I changed the size.

Have a wonderful Monday.

Filed Under: animals, blogging, gifts, nature 14 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

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