Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for bees

Day One Hundred Thirty-Three

July 24, 2020 at 9:46 am by Claudia

We got a lot of rain yesterday that lasted most of the day. I’m so happy about that, though it means that I can’t mow today and will have to wait until tomorrow. Our plants are happy, our trees and grass and birds and critters are happy – and we’re happy. It’s still quite muggy and we have two days coming up of temps in the nineties, so tomorrow has to be my day to get out there and mow what I can before I run out of energy. I’m not letting Don do it yet.

He took another walk on the property this morning. He’s sleeping better and I moved back upstairs last night. I counted up the nights I spent down here on the sofa – nine. Oh boy, did our mattress feel good last night! We’re slowly getting back into our daily routines and we realize more than ever how important a routine is, especially during these days of staying home and self-isolating. We’re used to the need to create structure/a routine each day as we’ve been freelancers for years. When I was teaching and coaching full-time, my days and evenings were so full that I craved the one day I got during the week with no  structure. But it’s been flipped these past 19 years, so now we create and need our daily routines.

I finished both the Diane Keaton book and Weather  by Jenny Offill this morning. Both were excellent. Jenny’s book, written in a ‘pointillist style’ as one of the blurbs stated, was fascinating, compelling and incredibly timely. However, that very style kept me from totally engaging with the main character. It created a distance that had me observing the words, rather than living in the pages. But I liked it and I’m glad I read it. Next up is Furious Hours – Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee  by Casey Cep. It concerns the trial of a serial killer in Alabama and the book that Harper Lee was writing about it. I’ve wanted to read this since it was first published and this is a signed copy that I got at Shakespeare and Company in Paris. It’s finally time.

What else? I’m constantly, or so it seems, thinking about the interior of the dollhouse and what I’m going to do with it – right now, the open living space on the first floor. I’ll leave the bathroom until last because it’s the room that interests me the least. (Just as our bathrooms interest me the least!) I’ve ordered a pretty substantial piece from an Etsy seller – she makes the most wonderful furniture. She is making it especially for me because the piece that was listed was a bit too tall for the rooms in my dollhouse. She lives in Italy. I’m narrowing down my choice for wallpaper in that room. I’m trying to figure out the window situation. This is what’s going on in my head at any given moment during the day.

Thanks for being there for us during this worrisome time. Don is getting stronger by the day and we are so grateful.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: bees, dollhouse, Don, flowers, miniatures, social distancing 35 Comments

Day Eighty-Seven

June 8, 2020 at 9:29 am by Claudia

I was sure it was Sunday when I first woke up. It wasn’t until I was downstairs that I had a suspicion in might not be. One day flows into another flows into another. I know many of you are experiencing the same thing.

We did a lot of mowing yesterday and I watered the pots and the seedlings. Don did some work up in the woods. I started my new puzzle, which is one of the puzzles Terri sent me; a cover from The New Yorker  called The Bookshop. It’s an interesting puzzle – the illustration is not as defined as the Mucha, for example – more impressionistic. Unlike the other puzzles, the shape of the individual pieces is much more varied. I’ll try to take a picture of some of them today to show you what I mean. So, it’s a challenge and you know I like that! I also have two more on the way from Galaxy Puzzles.

New York is automatically sending out absentee ballot request forms. Our county sent us one last week and we’re putting them into the mail today. Our primary is June 23rd. I am grateful that I don’t have to stand in line at a polling station right now. Obviously, this is the first time absentee ballot requests have been sent to everyone in the state. I wonder if it will also occur in November?

Brought back to the house after someone’s walk this morning. Daisies! Aren’t they lovely? Cut to Kathleen in You’ve Got Mail: “They’re so friendly. Don’t you think daisies are the friendliest flower?”

He picked them along the roadside. Aw……

Today, I’m taking it easy. Alas, every time I do major work outside at this time of year, my allergies kick in and I feel crappy. So my new rule is: A day working outside, a day staying inside. I have to give myself time to recover. Today is a day to stay inside (except for watering and a bit of time on the glider.)

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

Filed Under: bees, Don, flowers, garden, jigsaw puzzles 24 Comments

Too Much Activity!

June 28, 2019 at 11:06 am by Claudia

I’m getting around to posting a bit late today. Usually, it’s a couple of cups of coffee, reading, chatting with Don, and then I write the post. This morning, Don had to leave early for the city and I wanted to weed whack and repot a plant before it got unbearably hot out there. So I was weed whacking at 8:30 (wanted to make sure all the neighbors were up before that noise started). And then I spread a tarp and managed to wrangle my parents’ sansevieria out the door and onto the tarp. It’s needed repotting for a while. The plants spread by rhizomes that come out at a right angle to the plant and two of them had broken through the plastic pot. Every time I watered it, it leaked. It was also getting very top heavy.

I had planned on waiting until Don could help me, but I decided to go for it today while I was on a roll. It wasn’t easy! I trimmed a lot of shoots that had broken off over the years and just didn’t look good. I guess I hesitated because it was my parents’ plant and I didn’t feel right messing with it. But I must say it looks better now and once it orients itself to the windows, some of the forward tilt that I see should take care of itself. It’s still top heavy, but less so.

Of course, after I brought it inside, the amount of fresh potting soil that I had added outside didn’t seem sufficient, so I lugged the garbage pail that holds my potting soil into the kitchen. You guessed it: I managed to spill quite a bit of the soil onto the floor and every other surface within range. Out came the vacuum to clean up the mess.

So it’s already been a rather eventful morning. I feel like I should be taking a nap right about now.

Photos from yesterday:

This bumblebee was really enjoying the lavender!

I finished The Diary of a Bookseller  this morning. It’s delightful. I learned a great deal about the secondhand book business. I’m looking forward to the author’s next book, which I think comes out in August or September. Next up: The Salt Path, which I bought several months ago.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: bees, flowers, houseplants 25 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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