Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for autumn

Simple Sunday Morning

September 17, 2017 at 8:58 am by Claudia

Not many words today. I’m sleepy and groggy and it’s foggy out and I need to just be.

Fall color has arrived early. And the leaves are falling, as you can see in the picture below.

It seems to be happening everywhere. When I posted one of these photos on Instagram, several people said autumn and its color change had come early in their neck of the woods, too. Melanie said it was because the weather had been so dry where she lives in Illinois. But it’s been very wet here. We haven’t suffered from dry weather. Nevertheless, it’s early here as well. (Just did a google search – apparently too much rain can also cause leaves to turn color and fall earlier than usual.)

No vignette here – just Mother Nature at her artful best.

Yesterday’s morning glory. Such gorgeousness.

Don’s home. We’re both tired. We’ve both been through a stressful week, for varying reasons. I have to do some prep for my coaching job tomorrow. But I really just feel like napping.

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: autumn, Don 15 Comments

Fading & Changing

September 5, 2017 at 8:26 am by Claudia

It’s still summer. But the signs of autumn are definitely here in the Hudson Valley. Leaves are turning color on the maple. The light is different. The mornings and evenings are cooler. The school bus came today to pick up the kids across the road.

The apple orchards have their signs everywhere. We will soon be seeing weekends full of leaf-peepers. Sigh.

I’m not ready to say goodbye to summer and I won’t, officially, until September 22nd.

Nevertheless, I walked around the gardens yesterday to see what flowers are fading and/or changing.

The brown-eyed susans are still going strong.

The coneflowers are fading. But I find this stage equally beautiful.

Goodness, this hollyhock is blooming like crazy! Stunning.

The limelight hydrangea is turning pink. There’s a little spider to the left of center that I didn’t see at the time I took this picture.

I did see this stick bug, however. These guys fascinate me. Remember the pair that I found mating last year on my front porch gate?

Today, some errands. Some more laundry. Some time with my husband before I have to leave tomorrow and he has to leave on Sunday. Another sigh. Changes are on the horizon, and quite frankly, we don’t like changes that involve us being apart. We like and are grateful for the work, but the separation part of it is not at all easy.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: autumn, flowers, garden 28 Comments

My Version of a Fall Home Tour & Some Treasures

October 7, 2016 at 9:11 am by Claudia

My fall home tour:

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These views are what I see when I look outside. And it will get even better in the next week or two. So I don’t feel the need to decorate inside.

I love seeing how others decorate for fall, don’t get me wrong, but our little cottage is small and surface space is limited, so putting together little bits of fall decor inside looks too busy and takes away from the spectacularness right outside our windows.

We are fortunate to live in the Northeast, so all this beauty is free. Oh we do pay a price: lots of raking!

Barbara sent us a box which arrived at out post office box the other day. There are some presents for Little Z that will go nicely with his dollhouse. I won’t share them here because I want to keep them secret for now.

Don got a present:

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Two more book in the Hardy Boys series. He was so excited! There’s also a guitar pin and a wonderful old postcard of a cowboy.

I got some socks with Van Gogh’s Starry Night as the pattern. I love them.

And these:

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Two more Petite Princess finds; the chair and the dresser. I love these dressers, as you know, and I will most assuredly use this one in another dollhouse. And this chair is fabulous! The gorgeous pitcher (just like a vintage Hall pitcher) was made by artisan Janice Crawley. Isn’t it beautiful?

Thank you, Barbara! You made our day!

And for slice of reality, this is the way my office looks right now:

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There’s stuff everywhere. It’s starting to drive me nuts. Barbara included some mini wallpaper, so what you see on the work table are lots of books and weights that I’ve placed on the wallpaper in order to flatten it.

I’m starting to sort through piles of things throughout the house, so what did I do? I moved some of them upstairs to the office. And I still haven’t sorted through them.

Ay, me!

But today is for more raking and gutter clearing. What fun.

All of you who live in the area of Florida threatened by the hurricane, please take care. Evacuate if you haven’t already. We’re sending prayers to all of you. xoxo

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: autumn, books, dollhouse, Little Z, miniatures 38 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.

Thanks for stopping by.

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

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

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