Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Random Thoughts on Wednesday

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Taken not long after we mowed the entire front lawn yesterday morning.

I pushed for it because I knew we had to get it done before we had more rain and 4 days of very hot weather, starting today. I was right. We had a huge thunderstorm yesterday afternoon – another bout of torrential rain and endless thunder and lightning.

In all my years, and as you know there are a lot of them, I’ve never witnessed so many thunderstorms in the course of one summer. Honestly, we’ve averaged 2 or 3 a week, every week. Sometimes more. Most summers, we get them, yes, but every once in while, not a parade of storms like we’ve had this summer. I’ve never seen anything like it.

I love a good storm, but it’s safe to say that I’m over it. Enough already.

I swear that I can smell smoke out there, but the weather app says nothing about it. No air quality warning. But my sense of smell is pretty darned exceptional, so I won’t be surprised if we get some kind of warning tomorrow. Anyway, we plan on staying inside for the next four days as the heat index will reach the high nineties and the humidity will be off the charts.

Yuck.

I saw Buddy yesterday. He was out and about and at one point,  I had to make an appearance to get him out of the garden. That scamp! I think he might have taken over as the main tenant under the maple tree. I can’t be absolutely sure of course, but he is the only one of the siblings who regularly pops out of that hole.

We finished up the deductions and I sent them off to our accountant out in California. Yay! Done.

I took a minute to take a picture of two of the girls:

Mabel is wearing a new dress from our friend Woolly Rockers who lives in England. This is a ‘hula girl’ dress (check out the pattern) and I love it.

I’m not sure what they’re looking at – the hydrangea? A bird? Our neighbor’s house? Who knows?

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Outside

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Yesterday was the first day without excess heat and humidity in a long time, so we took advantage of it by mowing the front lawn and the secret garden. Short-lived, since the heat and humidity will be back all too soon. But boy, was it a beautiful day!

That umbrella is new. Don purchased the umbrella/stand to protect him from the sun when he works at the Farmer’s Market. The market is in a parking lot and there is no shelter or shade. It took us a while to realize we could use it at home, too!

It’s on the funky patio.

Don loves to sit out there and play his guitar, so the addition of the umbrella is perfect for him. I love the way it looks from the street.

We sat on the porch after mowing and felt gratitude for our house and our beautiful property. The bones were there, but the gardens and the patio are all us. Basically, everything that is blooming, filling the borders, defining spaces – that’s our work over 16 years of actively gardening here. It’s very satisfying.

Then we took a nap. Of course.

We’re going to start in on emptying our storage space. We’ll put on our ‘ruthless’ hats and start to take anything we don’t want to the recycling center/dump. They’ve raised our rental by $40/month again – what a rip off! Anyway, that’s it. Time to get rid of everything. It will begin today.

I received my other bjd doll – a companion for Wren – and I’ll share her with you tomorrow. I try to refrain from overwhelming you with dolls, as I know this is a relatively new addition to the blog and not everyone gets it.

Edited to add: Mere also tested positive for Covid.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Reading, Maeve, and the House

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A quick shot of the house as I walked back up the driveway after retrieving the mail.

Yesterday was a low-key day here at the cottage. I had plans to go outside and do a lot of minor chores on the property. But then…I realized that I was tired, my eyes stung, and allergies were making me feel congested and drowsy. So, I didn’t do any of that. I stayed indoors, read, and did laundry – well, actually, Don did the laundry. I helped on the folding end. He was tired from mowing the day before. We just hung out and it was very peaceful.

I’m just about a hundred pages away from the end of Something to Hide  by Elizabeth George. I forgot what a great storyteller she is. Not only that, but she weaves an intricate plot beautifully, always character driven and underscored with great empathy and humanity. I may have to pull one of her previous books out of my TBR pile because I’m definitely in an Elizabeth George mood. I’ve read many, many of her books over the years, but drifted away from them recently. I’m back.

I decided I needed a companion yesterday.

Little Maeve stuck by my side.

Sometimes I just have to muss up her hair:

I love her tiny little freckles.

Okay. I’m running a bit late today.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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