Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Falling Leaves, Blooming Flowers and Tasks Completed

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The first day of September brought rain during the night and a foggy, cool and wet morning. It’s as if Mother Nature said, “See? It’s now September. Prepare for Autumn. Now.”

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This is what I’m looking at this morning. Leaves on the roof, in the gutter, on the ground.

I’m not ready yet, Mother Nature. You  may be. But I’m not quite there. Give me a bit more time, won’t you?

Thank goodness for the Memorial Garden. Yet again while in my pajamas (new ones, thank you very much!) I went outside to record what’s happening there.

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Those are morning glory buds, my friends! Better late than never. I love morning glories and one of the pleasures of late summer/early autumn here is the chance to see their beauty. And photograph them, of course.

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On the other hand, this is the moonflower vine, which has really taken off and is climbing up the trellis and on the fence. Gorgeous, green and all over the place – but no flower buds in sight. Not a one. I planted these seeds late in the Spring, so I’m still hoping. I examine it every day. I do so hope it blooms, but even if it doesn’t, I love looking at these large, beautiful heart-shaped leaves.

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The roses given to me in honor of my father are still blooming! This one opened up today.

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As is the Sentimental Balloon Flower. Beautiful.

Oh yesterday, what a day! On very little sleep, I was bound and determined to finish sorting receipts, going through bank records, calculating and recording so that we could submit our deductions for 2015 today. Six hours at the desk, with a quick break here and there, while Don was downstairs calculating his deductions.

Darned if we didn’t finish! Today I’m mailing them off to our accountant. I’m sure we’ll owe money, the only question is how much. Gulp. (Doesn’t seem fair that our hard-earned and long-awaited Social Security is taxed. Boo.) But I feel a great sense of accomplishment – silly, really – because I tackled this task I detest and met my deadline. On about three hours sleep.

Last night, I slept beautifully and started the morning with some Peet’s French Roast and some Louise Penny.

I thought I had mentioned that we wanted to travel next year – I did, didn’t I? Maybe I just hadn’t mentioned where  we wanted to go. I have a modest inheritance from my father. Don has always expressed a longing to visit England (we’re both Anglophiles). I’ve been there several times, but he hasn’t. On the other hand, I have never been to Paris (though he has). So I decided that I was going to use part of the inheritance so that we can take this long-dreamed-of trip.

I’m not sure when it will take place because I have coaching commitments from late December of this year through May of next year. Maybe right after that. I think my dad would be very happy indeed that he is giving us the gift of this trip.

Happy Thursday.

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Potpourri on Friday

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• Late start today, as I slept in a little and had a nice long phone conversation with my sister. My nephew is going away to his new college today. It’s a big day and a big transition. I’m very proud of him.

• Yesterday, I weeded for about 2 hours, cleaning up all the garden beds. Usually, at this time of year, I’ve given up on the weeding. But, though it was tiring, I’m so glad I did it. Everything looks much better and more defined – and my rambling, country garden needs some definition.

• Around the property:

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The limelight hydrangea blossoms are the bigger than ever this summer. Very impressive!

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Another zinnia is opening.

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And the wild Queen Anne’s Lace is blooming down by the mailbox.

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It always evokes memories of my childhood, when there was still an open field across the street from our house, and I’d see Queen Anne’s Lace everywhere.

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• Look! There’s a baby springing up from the soil! This is the mother-in-law’s tongue that my parents nurtured for over 40 years. I was so happy to see this little baby that I had to send a picture via text message to my sister. Mom and Dad would be pleased.

• This morning I woke up missing my dad’s voice and our phone calls. The other day, I lost it and sobbed about Scout – about all  my dogs. I explained to Don that I missed talking and singing to Scout. I talked to her all the time, explaining what I was doing, explaining what I wanted her to do, telling her about my adventures, telling her how beautiful she was and how much I loved her. And I sang to her all the time; little songs I would make up on the spot.

I miss that.

I know that some of you will say, “You can still talk to her.” I do, at times. But, let’s be real: it’s not the same. I did it all  the time. And there’s a quiet now, an emptiness of sound, that sometimes knocks me down and brings me to tears.

• Our dear friends of many years lost their home to a fire a couple of days ago. They live in Los Angeles: it wasn’t due to a wildfire but most likely an electrical fire. I think that has yet to be determined. Thank goodness, all are safe, including their two dogs. I can’t even begin to imagine how devastating this is for them. They will rebuild. They are in our prayers. Everything can change in a moment.

• For all of you who missed Don on Mr. Robot: You can see it On Demand, if you have that option with your cable package. Or you can do what I’ve done in the past and will do again. You can watch episodes on the USA network’s web page. Here’s the link to his episode. He did some fine work in this one.

Happy Friday.

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A Bit Blue

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Saturday morning. Light rain falling.

There was a flurry of mowing yesterday because we thought it was going to rain all day today, which now looks not to be the case. Don was out and about yesterday morning, so I started in on the largest swath of the front lawn while he was away. And, you guessed it, I mowed a bit longer than I should have. That, coupled with waking up at 5 am, made Claudia a tired girl. Don came home and finished everything off, thank goodness. We still have to do the back, but that can wait.

I love seeing the lawn just after mowing; a lovely gorgeous expanse of green – nicely green thanks to the three days of rain we had last week. Since we live in the country there are a mix of grasses and weeds that make up our ‘lawn.’ This is not the land of manicured lawns, though most everyone mows and keeps everything neat. I grew up in suburbia and I well remember the fertilizing, edging, and manicuring that went on all over my neighborhood.

I like this better. And I don’t use chemicals anyway, so the lawn is what it is. I need to get a Fit Bit so I can figure out just how many steps I take when I mow.

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These daylilies have been fabulous this year. Constant blooms – and a lot of them. I think we’re drawing to an end, though. I’ll miss these beauties.

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I’m missing my bunnies and Henry. I did see Henry very briefly about a week ago and one of the larger rabbits. But baby bunny? Nope. They disappeared during the heat wave and haven’t come back. I spent a fair chunk of time observing them and I miss them. I still look for them several times a day, but so far…nothing. I’m wondering if this happens every year and I simply forget about their patterns by the time the next year rolls around.

With Scout gone, I guess I counted on their presence a bit more than usual.

It’s sort of a blue day today. Mom’s birthday was last week. Dad’s estate has just been settled, which is a good thing; however, it is an ending of sorts that brings sadness. And I miss Scout.

Happy Saturday.

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