Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for flowers

Flowers & Predators

June 6, 2019 at 10:37 am by Claudia

The clematis is blooming like crazy.

The wild roses, dreaded brambles at any other time of the year, are in bloom all over the property; clouds of white everywhere.

They’re so delicate! And they have a lovely scent. My favorites are the tiny, tiny pink buds. Right now I love them. In a few weeks, we’ll be enemies again.

And the peonies. What can I say?

I walk down to their position near the road more than a few times a day to inhale that heavenly scent. I don’t know of a more luscious flower than a peony. (Purely my opinion, of course!)

The days are getting warmer around here. We seem to have turned a corner.

Two quick animal/avian stories:

Last night, I was looking out the window of the kitchen door and saw one of our young bunnies munching on some grass. He was fairly close to both the house and the big garden bed. Suddenly, his head moved to the right and he took off and ran through the secret garden. I yanked open the door and saw some bigger animal run under my car. When I walked outside, the animal took off toward the shed. It was one of my neighbor’s cats – the bane of my existence. He paused at the shed, and I shook my fist at him and told him to “Get out of here!”

That bunny knew the cat was a threat. I remember thinking – before I knew what animal was lurking under my car – that it would be hard to believe it was a groundhog because I’ve seen both creatures co-exist peacefully in the yard. Groundhogs have no interest in bunnies.

But a large cat? A definite threat.

Then, this morning, we were sitting out on the porch for our second cup of coffee and I saw two large hawks flying high, followed by a smaller bird. The hawks veered to the left, one of them disappearing, the other landing in a tree. Immediately, a constant warning call sounded, with non-stop urgent chirps. I told Don that that was a distress call he was hearing. Soon the distress call was taken up by another bird as well. You could hear calls coming from both sides of the road. On and on it went until, after about five minutes, the hawk erupted from the tree, followed closely by a red-winged blackbird who chased him away.

The chirping stopped. All was peaceful.

Don was amazed.

It was better than anything on television.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: birds, bunnies, flowers, garden, Peonies 25 Comments

P Is For Peony

June 5, 2019 at 10:18 am by Claudia

First peony to open. Gorgeous.

I’m sure the flowers on the other bush have started to open but I haven’t gone outside yet. I’m staying in as much as possible, though I hate having to do that, as my allergies have seemingly gone haywire. I had an extreme reaction on Saturday and then another one on Sunday night. It’s been windy around here (what else is new?) and I’m sure that only intensified things.

So. I’m laying low. Can’t wait to get back to normal.

The clematis has started to blossom as well, but it was hard getting a picture yesterday because it was windy and I was trying to do it quickly so I could get out of the wind and the petals weren’t cooperating. I’ll try again today.

Thank heavens for Beverley Nichols, who keeps me chuckling despite my fuzzy head. I’m reading the second book in the second trilogy – Laughter on the Stairs.

Skylight light. We moved the lab stool over by the cabinet. It used to be the side table to our old sofa but we switched it out with another table that works better there. Unfortunately, I took this picture while a pile of mail had been placed there temporarily.

Real life!

Did anyone watch Woodstock  on TCM last night? I watched that movie so many times when I was in college. It played endlessly at our campus movie theater. And the album was on permanent play in our dorm room suite. So many memories! Don had never seen it. I was stunned. He, in turn, was shocked that I – the girl who never indulged in drugs or hallucinogens of any kind – would like the movie. But once he watched, he realized that it was really about the music. And it was. Favorite moments: Joan Baez, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Santana, and Sly and the Family Stone.

It went until midnight and we had to cut out about 11:15 or so, but it was great fun. And now that we live fairly close to the farm where it took place, we have an even deeper appreciation for the place and the time and the scenery. We know it well.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Filed Under: flowers, garden, movies, Peonies 16 Comments

Elevators and Little Z

June 1, 2019 at 10:12 am by Claudia

Yesterday was beautiful and I spent a fair amount of time on the porch until the breeze became a bit more intense and pollen flew everywhere. The rain is supposed to hold off until sometime this afternoon and right now it’s sunny.

I’ll take it.

We had a FaceTime chat with Little Z yesterday. He is obsessed with elevators and knows pretty much everything about them. He’s smart as a whip, you know, and listening to him rattle off his knowledge is pretty darned amazing.

Don and I were telling him about the elevators that were around when we were kids, the kind that had actual elevator operators. We told him all about their uniforms and the little seat that came out from the wall of the elevator so the operator could sit if needed. We talked about the J.L. Hudson department store in downtown Detroit (and department stores across the country,) where the operator would announce the departments that were on a particular floor, so you knew what floor to go to for a certain item. Don talked about the famous outdoor elevator which was on the El Cortez building in San Diego.

This morning Don sent Z lots of photos and a newsreel about the El Cortez elevator. Z loved it,

As expected, Don and I chatted about it during this morning’s second cup of coffee. Everything is so impersonal these days. No more elevator operators (you just felt safer on an elevator when they were in charge,) no more gas stations where your gas was pumped, your oil was checked, your windows were cleaned and your tires were checked. I know they still pump gas in New Jersey, but I don’t think they do the other stuff. (Correct me if I’m wrong!) Robots doing jobs that real people used to do. And we all know how frustrating it is to get any sort of customer service on the phone. I could go on and on, but it’s a very different world nowadays. And a great deal has been lost because of it.

Don is off to take some portraits today. He did that yesterday, as well. Last week he took a photo of Chris Hayes (of MSNBC) and his family and friends. He has a house in our area.

The porch is looking good. The potted flowers are filling out and growing by leaps and bounds. It’s our summertime haven.

Happy June. May we have less rain please? And Happy Anniversary to my parents, who were married on June 1, 1946. What I wouldn’t give to call them up and wish them a happy anniversary!

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: flowers, Little Z, porch 31 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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