Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for birds

Flora and Fauna Update

June 16, 2016 at 8:34 am by Claudia

I’m afraid my posts are going to be rose-heavy for a while! The new roses from Martha are so beautiful and each new bloom is perfection. I deliberately purchased two pots with the roses already growing instead of bare root roses. I’ve also purchased bare root roses in the past, but this time I wanted to see some blooms quickly.

The At Last roses:

6-15 atlastroses1

6-15 atlastroses2

6-15 atlastroses3

And my Lady Elsie May bush started blooming. It’s in the front-of-the-house garden bed. Both that bush and the Julia Child bush were in such bad shape last summer, due to two brutal winters in a row, that I thought they were goners. I cut the dead wood back as best I could, then did another trim this spring. They’re sort of unattractive at the moment, a mixture of old and new growth, but they’re blooming!

6-15 ladyelsiemay

Huzzah!

I was outside yesterday, pulling weeds, watering the plants, filling the bird bath – which was the site of constant bathing and drinking activity yesterday. Non-stop. Even the bees and bugs were sipping the water. As I walked around the front of the property, the scent from the Catalpa tree blossoms kept wafting through the air. I don’t know if you’ve ever smelled a Catalpa blossom, but the scent is heavenly. The blooms are open on all the Catalpa trees around here – there are a lot of them in this neck of the woods. Heck, we have three  Catalpas, but two of them are up in the wooded area of the property.

6-15 catalpablossoms

The blossoms are beautiful and delicate. Catalpas have big heart-shaped leaves.

6-15 catalpa

I sat on the glider and read for a while, listening to the bird song and watching the activity all over the property. It was very soothing, which was what I needed.

Critter update: I saw Henry the other day. I hadn’t seen him for weeks, but there he was, resting on the ramp that leads to the shed door.

Don spotted the baby fox a couple of days ago. Once again, he trotted across the street, causing cars to slow down and us to shoo him away from the street. Yesterday, I looked out the kitchen door and he was in our yard (he’s bigger now) so I opened the door. He looked up at me and ran around the back side of the shed.

This morning, my favorite Mourning Dove was in the new Memorial Garden bed, and two bunnies (Mom and baby) were chomping on the grass. The dove used to have a mate, but I haven’t seen the other dove this year, so he/she must have died. That makes me sad. I think my favorite bird is the Mourning Dove. In fact, I can hear her right now. The call is so beautiful (I love anything in a minor key) and they are so gentle. I see her at the birdbath every once in a while, too.

Don’s day on the set of Mr. Robot  went well, but he was pretty exhausted by the time he got home last night. He is supposed to shoot two more episodes in the coming weeks.

And there you go.

Happy Thursday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: animals, birds, Don, flowers, garden, groundhogs 43 Comments

Flocks, Murmurations, and the Radio

October 23, 2015 at 9:17 am by Claudia

10-23 canadageese

It’s that time of year when I can hear the honking of the Canada Geese overhead. If I happen to have a camera nearby, all the better. They gather by the river that’s just down the road; hundreds and hundreds of them.

The other day, we experienced another fall event: a murmuration of starlings. As I was sitting in my chair, I caught a glimpse of several starlings flying and landing, taking off and soaring. Then I heard them. I quickly got up and went to the kitchen window and there they were: hundreds and hundreds of them, landing on the grass, then rising into the trees, then flying in a circular, soaring swirl.

It’s amazing. And it doesn’t last long, so you have to drop everything and watch.

10-23 horsesinthedistance

I listened to my husband being interviewed on the radio last night. He was on Radio Woodstock. The show was hosted by Lisa Wexler, a musician and the daughter of the incredible Jerry Wexler, one of the most famous producers in the history of the recording industry. Google him and you’ll see what I mean.

Don was on between 10 pm and midnight. I grabbed a portable radio, ran a bubble bath and listened to a chunk of the show while immersed in bubbles. And then I listened to the rest while reading in bed. It reminded me of those days in my youth when an ever-present transistor radio was at my side, always tuned in to our local radio station. There’s something really wonderful about listening to the radio without earbuds or a computer. Just low-tech. The way it used to be.

Don was great, as was Lisa. He talked about his life, Lisa played tracks from the new CD, and he sang live. He also shared five songs/recordings that had had an impact on his life. In Don’s case, most of them were recordings that he heard when he was 12 or so. It was fascinating. As he said, it wasn’t so much that the records were incredibly good or huge sellers, but that they came into his awareness at a point in his life where they resonated with him on a very powerful level.

I love hearing his new CD being played on the radio. It’s as it should be, especially since the title is Ready for the Radio. I love hearing his voice coming out of my portable radio, knowing that everyone listening is getting the chance to get to hear him speak and share his warmth, compassion, wisdom, and great sense of humor.

Good job, Don!

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

 

Filed Under: birds, Don, music 38 Comments

Outside: Deer, Birds & A Groundhog

May 20, 2015 at 8:34 am by Claudia

5-20 deer damage

Apparently the deer that share our property aren’t satisfied with the abundance of green things to eat elsewhere on the property. Their palates tend toward young green things in my big garden bed. Honestly, they snack a little every year, but this year…they are doing major damage.

Is this the thanks you give me for all I’ve done for you, ungrateful deer?

Why can’t you be like our groundhog, Henry, who dines on green grass and other things that have nothing to do with the garden?

You could learn from him.

I’ve been spraying a home-made concoction on the plants, but every time I spray everything, it rains.

5-20 poppy bud

Meanwhile, the prickly poppy seems to be safe from the deer. And soon we will have beautiful orange-red, paper-thin flowers.

Kiss Me Kate  was simply glorious. What a treat it was to watch it! I found myself whooping out loud after certain numbers like “Too Darn Hot” and “Tom, Dick, and Harry.” Witty, at times hilarious, touching, beautiful, with dancing and singing that knocks your socks off, it’s a treasure. Darko wasn’t at the matinée on Sunday, so I came home and wrote him a love letter via email. His work, along with the incredible choreography of Peggy Hickey, is superb. I took a few notes, but the actors are very good and they were very coachable, so most everything I had given them had been taken to heart and fully realized.

I’ll miss seeing it. Even now, three days later, the songs and images from the show are still vivid. Snatches of songs are running through my brain. Sigh.

The birdbath has been quite active this spring – much earlier than usual. Perhaps it’s due to the unseasonably warm temperatures we’ve been having. Yesterday, I happened to look out the window as a robin plopped himself down in the center of the birdbath. A catbird (they love taking baths) was just about to head into the water when he saw the robin.

5-20 robin & catbird

He tried an end run around the robin, coming in from behind the birdbath, but the robin turned and gave him a ‘look’ and the catbird backed off. He tried the bench. The robin wasn’t budging.

5-20 robin & catbird 2

He tried the planter. Mr. Robin wasn’t moving.

5-20 robin & catbird 3

He tried the chair. And….no movement from the robin. The catbird finally gave up and flew off right after I took this picture.

The photos are a little blurry as I took them through the window and I don’t have a telephoto lens (on my wish list) but gosh, I love taking pictures of the birds and the birdbath. I find them so fascinating! Yesterday, we had the bunny rabbit doing his thing outside the kitchen window, the birds taking baths, and Henry chomping on grass by the shed.

The deer were nowhere to be seen as they like to do their thing before I get up. I love them but they are in deep trouble!

I posted a book review yesterday and I’m giving away a copy. Don’t forget to enter! Just scroll down one post.

And there’s a new post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page: Thoughts on Book Reviews & Some Links For You.

Happy Wednesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: animals, birds, garden 40 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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