Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Day One Hundred Thirty-Eight

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Yesterday was a butterfly day. I saw a monarch, an eastern swallowtail, and this butterfly:

It wasn’t an eastern swallowtail. It wasn’t a black swallowtail. But it was some sort of swallowtail. So I did some research. It’s an anise swallowtail and I’ve never seen one before. Simply gorgeous. He/she was hanging around the coneflowers at the side of the house and I was able to get pretty close. Thank you, sweet butterfly.

We also saw a very young fawn gallop across our front lawn as we stood on our front porch. No adult in sight, so I assume the fawn was running to mama. So, so beautiful and graceful.

The catbirds have built a nest in our big bush in the front garden bed. I’ve been watching them fly back and forth for weeks. Catbirds, as I’ve mentioned before, love taking baths and they are by far our most frequent visitors to the birdbath. We were joking the other day that when they were looking for a place to build a nest, they must have thought “Bonus! There’s a bath a few feet away!”

Mourning doves were building a nest in the catalpa but I think they decided, in the end, to build elsewhere.

And I saw our little groundhog dining on the grass.

The humidity has dropped, though it’s still going to reach 90 degrees today. Both Don and I woke up around 4:30 am this morning. Crap. So I’ll most likely be mowing and cleaning the porch so that I keep busy. Otherwise, I’ll just be moaning about being tired all day and that gets old real fast.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Butterflies, Flowers & Books

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One of our late season caterpillars turned into a butterfly. Don noticed it first, yesterday morning. Then I saw it flying around the big garden bed later in the day. There aren’t a lot of viable flowers around the property, but there are phlox and zinnias so I hope we were able to provide some sustenance. Of course, I don’t know absolutely that it was one of our caterpillars, but I’m pretty sure it was, as it hung around for most of the day yesterday.

It was 84 degrees yesterday and quite humid. Today, the high will be 50 degrees, the low 49. Only one degree separating the high and low in a 24 hour period. It’s also raining and the rain will continue all day long. Quite the weather change!

This is a New England Aster.

We finished watching all of Luther, including the four episodes released this year that I hadn’t yet seen. I’ve always been a fan, having watched it from the beginning, but Don is now a fan as well. I had a few quibbles with the last episode which I won’t go into in case you haven’t seen it, but overall, it’s excellent. Incredible work by everyone, from starring to supporting actor to art direction to cinematography to direction.

Now we’re watching The Politician  on Netflix, which just started streaming this week. It’s good, but geared more toward a younger audience. Ben Platt is wonderful, and it’s good to see Gwynneth Paltrow again, as well as the always wonderful Bob Balaban. We’re not over the top about it, but we like it – it’s quirky.

What else? I picked up two books that I had ordered from our library system, the next two books in the Jack Caffery series by Mo Hayder. But first, I have to finish Down in the Woods  by M. J. Arlidge. I have about 80 pages to go.

My husband is currently playing his guitar in the living room, I can hear the rain falling, I have a shawl wrapped around my shoulders, and after I hit ‘publish’ I’m going to read some more.

Happy Thursday.

 

Butterflies and Books

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As we sat on the porch, sipping our second cup of coffee and chatting, another monarch butterfly appeared. You’ve seen photos of the porch. Just over the railing from our adirondack chairs is the main patch of milkweed. We have the best seats in the house when a monarch appears!

This monarch was laying eggs on the underside of the leaves. Flitting from plant to plant.

It flew all around the property – Don encountered it when he came out of the kitchen. I saw another monarch later – at least I think it was another one, as it seemed smaller. Again, laying eggs and dining on the flowers.

I love them. What a treat to be able to sit there in our chairs and watch them do their work.

It’s going to be hot one today, an even hotter one tomorrow, as well as on Sunday. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. I hold off turning on the A/C as long as possible but I have a feeling it will have to go on soon.

What am I doing? Reading. And vacuuming. And that’s about it. I’ve been resting my back, which is much better today. Oh, and watering the plants, which I’m going to do as soon as I finish this post.

From the side garden bed. I love these day lilies. See the spider?

I’m reading Case Histories  by Kate Atkinson, the very first book in her Jackson Brodie series. Excellent, as always. I ordered the newest John Connolly, A Book of Bones, via Book Depository because it hasn’t been published here yet, only in Great Britain. I couldn’t believe how heavy it was when I pulled it out of the mailbox. It clocks in at 694 pages! He’s never written a book this long. I’m saving it until I finish reading my library books, but what a treat it will be!

I remember reading Gone With the Wind  when I was in 8th grade. I had never read a book that was so thick and had so  many pages! It felt like a big deal, like I’d crossed the line into an adult-sized book. A rite of passage.

Aren’t books wonderful?

Happy Friday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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