Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for birds

Hitting the Wall

May 8, 2021 at 10:04 am by Claudia

• We have one tulip. It was planted by a previous owner. At times, it only develops leaves, but for the past two years, it’s flowered beautifully. A thank you to the previous custodian of this house for planting this beauty.

• Friends, I hit a wall last night. We have been working so hard outside, running errands, mowing the entire property, and the wall was a combination of exhaustion and allergies. Today, a day we had already decided would be a day off, I feel like I’m in a fog. Thankfully, it’s raining gently right now so Mother Nature has decided that it’s a day to stay inside.

So what did I do yesterday? I went to the nursery, where I saw one of the owners carrying the exact hanging plant that I wanted. He said it was already sold but that he might have one left. He did. Someone had just purchased 13 of them! The good news? More were expected later in the day and I should come back after 3 pm. Okay.

Then I drove to the grocery store to get a few things that we needed.

Came home, hung the plant, got out the weed whacker and went all around the property, cleaning things up. Then we mowed the back forty. Then we raked all the bare spots left over from taking down the corral fence, as well as from all the machinery that was used to remove our trees, and applied grass seed, in hope that we can get something going there before the birds eat the seed.

Then I had some lunch and drove back to the nursery and purchased the other two hanging plants. Early in the morning, there were a few people there. By the end of the day, all the weekenders had shown up and I could barely find a place to park. A pox on those city people!

My allergies are very bad this year and I just plow ahead and do things because if I let allergies stop me I would never get anything done. But boy oh boy, do I need to sit it out this weekend!

Still to do: sow seeds for zinnias, morning glory, and moonflowers. And mulch the big garden bed which I haven’t done for a couple of years.

• I was reading a book on oil painting and quickly realized that though there is a lot of helpful information, I couldn’t linger there too long or I would be thoroughly intimidated. I may be too tired today to attempt anything, but maybe tomorrow…

• Yesterday when I was going in and out of the shed, two robins, perched in trees on either side of the shed, started chirping at me. I suspected that they might have moved into that nest that is nestled in the climbing hydrangea. And then, as the day went on, I kept seeing two robins in the corral area (eating the grass seed!) This morning, I saw them again and one flew into the nest. Aha! I love it when birds nest there. I think we’ve had three different sets of nesters over the past four years, which is why I’m glad I never took it down. It really is a piece of art, that nest.

• A conversation for another day: what Don and I have been discussing about reentry into the world and the fears we have about that, as well as what we realize we don’t want as we move forward. I’ve addressed this a bit before, but as an introvert, I’m determined to reenter on my terms. I’m too tired to write more than that today. Maybe tomorrow.

• A sad note. Meredith called me to tell me that fellow blogger, Theresa Kasner, had died suddenly. Theresa was a lovely person and Meredith was very good friends with her. Theresa also visited my blog occasionally and I loved her personality, her joy in life, her beautiful photography and the life she shared with her husband, Dayle, on their farm. Rest in peace, Theresa. You will be greatly missed.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: birds, Don, flowers 29 Comments

Day Four Hundred Seven

April 24, 2021 at 9:46 am by Claudia

I grabbed the camera and snapped a quick photo of the cubby. I loved the way the light was creating shadows behind the egg cups. Maybe that’s happened before, but I’ve never noticed it.

Yesterday ended up being very windy – will it never stop? – so I worked outside for only a short while. Trying to get anything done was exhausting, and my allergies were on overdrive. Very frustrating. Even Don, who loves wind, said that after three days of it, he was done. Today is much calmer, thank goodness, so I’m going to try again. I need to rake the leaves out of the chicken wire fence garden and mow the grass in that same area. It’s going to rain tomorrow.

Christopher and Jenny are back at it this morning. Just like yesterday, I heard one of them sing, looked out the window and there he/she was, standing in front of the trailer. By the way, Christopher is named after the famous architect, Sir Christopher Wren, who designed St. Paul’s Cathedral, among other famous buildings in London. It’s one of my favorite churches, I might add. Jenny is a traditional nickname for wrens, especially in Great Britain and Europe, hence “Jenny Wren.”

Today is the seventh anniversary of my mom’s passing. It seems to be hitting me particularly hard this year. I can’t believe it’s been 7 years and I really miss my mom. Don does, too. My mom had a lovely little habit of calling our respective spouses when she knew one of us was away. She loved having a long conversation, just the two of them. I would be away somewhere coaching and Don would say, “I had a great conversation with your Mom today.”

Anyway. I didn’t respond to comments yesterday because I was feeling under the weather after my battle with the wind. Sorry about that. And now I have to help Don with an audition self-tape that has to be in today. We did another one just two days ago. Self-taping is definitely going to be the norm going forward. It was already happening before the pandemic, but it’s really taken off. For us, it’s invaluable. No bus trip to the city. No expensive bus ticket. Traveling to an audition ends of taking up a whole day. Now? We just set up, I read the other lines in the scene, and when Don is happy with it, he sends it in. Easy peasy. It works for television and film rather nicely.

After that, I’m headed outside.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: bird nest, birds, Don, egg cups 16 Comments

Day Four Hundred Six

April 23, 2021 at 9:31 am by Claudia

They’ve definitely moved in. At around 6 am, they emerged from inside the trailer – both of them – and sang. It was like a Disney movie in which the cottage door is flung open and the heroine sings. Back and forth, back and forth – they’ve been singing and flying in and out of the trailer for a few hours now. At first, we wondered if perhaps they were feeding babies, but then as it got lighter out, I saw nest-making materials in their beaks.

Christopher and Jenny are our new tenants. Chris and Jen, for short.

I’m endlessly fascinated with them.

I couldn’t resist sharing this rather blurry shot with you. One of them perched on the hubcap (is that still the name for it?) for about 10 minutes.

We’re so glad they chose our little trailer.

It was cold and windy yesterday and there was a frost warning overnight, but when I arose early this morning, I didn’t see any signs of frost. I think we dodged a bullet and I’m very grateful. We have warmer temperatures ahead, so I’m going to do a little raking this morning – the chicken wire fence gardens are full of leaves. Don is going to replace the chicken wire in a couple of days as it’s very, very rusty and looks terrible. Also, a little weed pulling is on the docket.

In a couple of days, I’ll trot off to the nursery and buy my porch and patio plants. I can’t wait!

I bought a turntable for the English Cottage, which will make it much easier to work on, as well as adjust for better photo lighting. I have three of them now; one for Hummingbird Cottage, one for the vintage dollhouse on top of the china cabinet in the den, and now, one for Dove Cottage. Turntables wouldn’t work with the big vintage dollhouse in the kitchen, or with the modern dollhouse. Nor with the Beacon Hill, if I ever get around to constructing it. It’s too big. Anyway, once I placed the dollhouse on the turntable, I wondered why I had waited so long to get one! When I want to secure it, I stick a Scrabble letter rack under it. It’s the perfect size.

Okay. Have to get a move on. It’s sunny, finally, and a good day to work outside!

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: bird nest, birds, dollhouse, Dove Cottage, wren 18 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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