Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for butterfly

A Monarch & Mr. Robot

August 18, 2016 at 9:36 am by Claudia

Patience is a virtue that I don’t always have. But I do  seem to have it when trying to capture flora and fauna on my camera. I’ve noticed that butterflies tend to come to the butterfly bush in the late afternoon/early evening. Around 6 pm I ventured out to the porch and peeked around the corner at the butterfly bush. Aha! A monarch! (And a hummingbird moth, I might add.)

I ran into the house grabbed my camera and then proceeded to contort myself into a position that entailed leaning out over the porch railing and then torquing my body to the right with camera in hand. For a long time.

Here’s what I got:

8-18 monarch1a

8-18 monarch2

8-18 monarch3a

8-18 monarch4

And, in flight:

8-18 monarch5

There’s more, but I picked the ones I thought were the most interesting. I like to think this one emerged from our very own milkweed plants.

This butterfly bush has been a joy. I planted it a few years back and now it grows very tall each year, with blooms emerging in August. I love its graceful lines. It draws small, beautiful moths, all sorts of butterflies, hummingbird moths – and hummingbirds. If you don’t have one, consider planting one next year. The bloom time isn’t all that long, but boy, is it worth it!

The morning glories and moonflowers are lush with green leaves and are climbing all over the place. Still waiting on some flower buds….

We mowed yesterday and it was exhausting. Since the grass was so long and wet because of the humidity, the mower kept clogging and we’d have to repeatedly stop and scoop up all the cut grass from underneath the mower.

Just under two weeks until the newest Louise Penny is published on August 30th. I will be at the bookstore that day, that I can promise.

Don was on Mr. Robot last night and we kept flipping back and forth between the Olympics and Mr. Robot to try to catch his scene. We were successful! He was wonderful in a scene with his daughter; heartbreaking, sad, bewildered, angry – very real, which, on film, is much more difficult than you might imagine. I’m very proud of him. We haven’t actually watched any episodes in the second season as of yet. We will. So we didn’t try to understand what the heck was going on with the rest of the show; we just caught his scene.

By the way, we didn’t find out that his episode was airing last night until mid-afternoon. I edited this post to include that information and mentioned it on FB and IG. Sorry if you missed it!

Happy Thursday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: butterfly, Don, flowers, garden, life, monarch butterfly 34 Comments

Butterflies, Found Treasures & Zinnias

August 17, 2016 at 10:05 am by Claudia

I think…fingers crossed…that the hot and extremely humid weather we’ve been having for over a week and a half has broken. I’ll know more when I venture outside. For the first time in what seems to be a long time, the windows are open.

Yesterday, I glimpsed a butterfly near the butterfly bush. It seemed to be darker than the Eastern Swallowtails that hang around here. Could it be a Monarch, so rarely seen nowadays? I grabbed a camera, ran outside, verified that a gorgeous Monarch was perched on my bush and snapped a picture. Want to see it?

8-17 blurrymonarchbutterfly

It was so humid that my lens steamed up. By the time I realized it and wiped the lens, the Monarch was gone.

And then I surprised a hummingbird – twice – who was dining on the phlox. Again. The steamy lens.

That’s how frigging humid it was here yesterday. At one point, the clouds were covering the sun and I thought it was less humid than it actually was, so I decided to mow the corral. Thirty minutes later, dripping wet, I acknowledged that I had misjudged the atmospheric conditions.

Second shower of the day.

Today, however, I think we’ll be able to tackle the front lawn. Every blade of grass around here is at least 6 inches long. It’s making me crazy.

8-17 naturalwonders

I have this transferware plate that lives on the sideboard. It holds ‘found treasures.’ A fossil and seashells found in Florida and California, an agate, a crystal, a broken sand dollar, a pod, blue glass, broken china found on our property, birds eggs, a decorative nozzle also found on the property. The newest addition is the green teacup handle. Somehow these things just emerge from the ground after years of being buried. I found this in the Memorial Garden.

That’s a wild turkey feather on the left, along with another recently found feather.

As I said on Instagram a while back, these remind me of the treasures that Boo Radley painstakingly hides in the tree – gifts for Jem and Scout. Oh, that book, it melts my heart.

8-17 zinniatobe

A zinnia getting ready to open. The leaves on this one were being attacked by a darned Japanese Beetle. I thought they were gone for the season, so I was rather outraged when I found a beetle eating the leaves on one of my long awaited zinnias. Get out of here, Japanese Beetles! You have overstayed your welcome.

Don’t forget to check out my post on Replens and leave a comment for a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card. Just click here! #ad

Heads up! Just got a message that Don’s episode of Mr. Robot airs tonight at 10 pm on USA!

Happy Wednesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: butterfly, flowers, nature 24 Comments

Float Like a Butterfly

August 9, 2016 at 9:21 am by Claudia

On any given day here in the gardens, I see cabbage moths and the occasional butterfly. (No Monarchs yet.) However, once that Butterfly Bush starts blooming, I see them all the time. The other day, I saw two Eastern Swallowtails on the same bloom. By the time I got my camera (the older one, as it was nearest to the door) they had moved, but I managed to grab a quick shot of them at the top of the bush.

8-9 two butterflies

From that point on, I just kept snapping pictures whenever one of them landed on a flower.

8-9 butterfly1

8-9 butterfly2

8-9 butterfly3

8-9 butterfly4

8-9 butterfly6

8-9 butterfly5

I saw a black swallowtail as I was pulling out of the driveway yesterday. He was dining on the phlox.

We are in the midst of August now. I see fewer birds in the birdbath and fewer critters, though I did see a bunny this morning. I can’t help it, I love my little friends, so I feel a sadness when their visits start to be few and far between. These little and not-so-little changes are heralds of the upcoming seasonal change.

Do not like.

I have to get the oil changed in my car this morning – I know, how exciting can my life be? And I’ll run some errands while I’m in that area – an area that has a Target, Home Depot, Barnes & Noble, and Michael’s. By the way, the last time I was in Barnes & Noble, a few weeks back, I was stunned at how few books there were. The toys and educational items and games are literally taking over the store. Perhaps the new name should be Barnes & Noble Toys, Games, DVDs and Children’s Books. Because there sure aren’t many books for adults.

The winner of the Bedrooms Coloring Book is Lorinda! Congratulations, Lorinda. I’ve sent you an email. Please send me your mailing address and I will forward it on to my friend Donna – she’ll be sending you your very own copy.

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: bookstores, butterfly, flowers, garden, giveaway 32 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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