Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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The Woods, Planters & Hidden Daffodils.

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New additions to the porch. I was inspired by a post by Liz Marie Galvan (who decorates in all white and wood tones, a look very different than my own and one I’m normally not drawn to, but she does it beautifully. She’s also a Michigander, so what’s not to love?

Anyway, she was doing a post for Tractor Supply, of all places, and the white planter/tub and finial are part of a collection by Trisha Yearwood. Liz showed them on her porch steps and she plopped a fern in her planter and I liked it. So off I went to two Tractor Supply stores before I found the two pieces. (I also found a cute top to wear there, also. Go figure.) And I got the fern from my local nursery yesterday morning.

I’m choosing to think of the logo on the planter/tub as a pig that lives on a rescue farm, not one that is slaughtered for food. I like pigs a whole lot. They’re very intelligent and they have feelings and you know the rest. I don’t eat anything with a face.

Back to the look – I like it. It suits the former kitchen island that is now the holder of potting supplies and a pretty addition to the porch.

It rained on Sunday, so I was forced to take it easy. I walked around the property and into our little wooded area. There are several trees down. I suspect most of them fell during that awful snow/ice storm that took down the huge limb from the catalpa. I could hear cracking sounds everywhere that night, which was basically a nightmare.

Daffodils hidden in the woods, from a time when things were less overgrown around here. You have to know where to find them.

Don and I placed this old street sign from the corner we lived on in San Diego here among the catalpas several years ago. Last year Don replaced our mailbox and pole. Imagine my surprise yesterday when I saw that he had put the old one on display. That scamp! I laughed out loud.

I’m off to NYC this morning for a 24 hour visit. Then I’ll be home again to do all the things that need doing and then…hopefully…I’ll be done with the big stuff.

I’m going to take tomorrow off, simply because I don’t want to have to take my laptop along for such a short trip. I’ll be back on Wednesday.

Happy Monday.

Overdoing It

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Beautiful little maple leaves. I can’t believe how quickly every tree has leafed out this week. I suppose it’s a combination of the bizarre hot spell and rain – which we’re getting today. Now, almost every tree has leaves. The catalpas – always the last to leaf – are still bare.

I overdid yesterday. I started lopping off brambles, trying to open up some areas of the back forty that have been overrun by them. They’re like the cockroach of the plant world. They just keep going and multiplying. And then I mowed the back forty and the corral and the grassy area behind the kitchen.

I took a break, had some lunch, thought about showering. But then I looked at the front lawn, which was getting quite long very quickly and knew it was going to rain today and I wanted it to look good when Don came home. So I mowed it.

At the end of the afternoon I was well and truly exhausted. My arm muscles ache from using the lopper. My leg muscles ache from mowing.

And the irony? Don asked me this morning if I could come there, rather than him coming here, because he’s tired and his legs ache. That’s fine – he deserves to rest and he’s really sore at the moment.

But that’s why I mowed the dang lawn!

Anyway, I’m going in for the day and night tomorrow and I’ll come home on Tuesday. I have to plant seeds, weed, and mulch this week. I can’t put that off. And there will be a rainy day or two, so I have to get cracking. Soon, everything will be potted and planted and mulched and I’ll be able to pull way back and just enjoy. And spend a bit more time in the city with Don.

More pretty pink crabapple buds.

Happy Birthday to my brother Dave, who would have been 71 today.

Happy Sunday.

And It’s May

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I hope you don’t mind, but I’m not going to reply to yesterday’s comments, only because I had another sleepless night (must be a phase) and I have to write this post and drive Don to the bus station.

Short answer to your questions: Yes. I know the cats kill birds. I’ve found evidence.

We had a lovely low key day together, mostly hanging out at the house save for a lovely lunch in a neighboring town. We’re now into Wallander, which for some reason, I haven’t watched before. So well done. And Kenneth Branagh is perfect in the role. Lovely, understated performance.

Oh, before I forget: I was on Amazon yesterday and one of those ‘for you’ reminders came up. Much to my astonishment, since she said she wasn’t writing any more books in this series, Susan Hill has another Simon Serailler mystery coming out in November! Huzzah! I loved that series and was so disappointed when I thought we wouldn’t be seeing any more of Simon.

A lovely, velvety pansy.

Last night’s sunset. No filter, no enhancing. This is how it looked.

Spectacular.

The temps are going to be well over 20 degrees warmer than yesterday. Mid seventies. It’s sunny, as well. So even though I’m beat, I’m going to do some work outside as we have only two rainless days this week – today and tomorrow.

Happy Tuesday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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