Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for flowers

The Beginning of the Change of Seasons

September 16, 2023 at 9:08 am by Claudia

The view as we drove home from getting vaccinated. Just around that curve and down the road a bit is the nursery where I get all my plants.

We did have mild reactions, by the way. Nothing terrible, just feeling a bit achy, and not-quite-right. But, we got both vaccines at the same time, something we normally don’t do. I was a bit off all day long, Anyway, I’m feeling better today, as is Don. That’s good, as he has a gig this afternoon.

I may mow. We’ll see.

It’s turned much cooler – yesterday felt positively fall-like. I’m happy about that as the summer was far from ideal and I’m ready to move on.

I still see one or two of the groundhogs, but not very often. The babies are no longer babies and have found their own homes. I’m relieved not to have to monitor the garden constantly, but I do miss their playful presence. I ran across the photos I took of them when they first emerged with their mom and I got sad. Ah, well. I rarely see any of the rabbits either.

The groundhogs will start to hibernate next month. Although I’m ready for fall, there’s always a bit of melancholy attached to the seasonal change into fall and then winter. Don and I were sitting on the glider during a break from mowing and I looked out at all the trees and the green leaves and reminded him that we had waited all winter and into the early spring to finally see some green out there. And soon that will be gone.

But for now, my brown-eyed susans are still in bloom, lots of wildflowers are blooming, but the coneflowers are fading. The giant zinnias are still hanging in there and so are the Rose of Sharon bushes, both of which have plenty of buds yet to open. (I never know which plant names to capitalize!)

Even this fading zinnia is beautiful, almost sculptural. Time to take a walk around the property and take some pictures.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: flowers, garden 14 Comments

Garden Surprises

September 13, 2023 at 7:58 am by Claudia

Garden surprises:

I thought this endless summer hydrangea was not going to bloom at all this year, There was absolutely nothing but leaves all summer long. But a week or so ago, I noticed two blooms developing. And here we are.

Never give up, I guess!

And yesterday, as I was walking by the memorial garden, I thought I spotted something. I quickly went back and way up in the garden behind another plant was a tiny rose. I had a little bush up there that had died. In fact, I removed most of it – all of it, I thought. But there, in its place, was a tiny plant with some leaves and this:

An unexpected delight!

It’s been such a strange summer for the gardens and the trees. As I write this, it’s raining again. We had to snatch the opportunity to mow yesterday because a dry day is rare around here. Once again, the grass had grown way too long because it rains every day so we can’t mow. Mowing was exhausting, as we had to constantly stop to remove the grass that was clogging the chute. We might resort to cutting that section of the front lawn more frequently so we don’t have deal with so much tall grass. Of course, you can only do that if it doesn’t rain.

The good news: after today, we have over a week of dry weather in the forecast.

Woke up at 4:30 am this morning. So did Don. The a/c had shut off because I forgot to put it on the correct setting, It was too warm for me. Don says it wasn’t too warm for him, he just happened to wake up too early. Needless to say, we’re tired and a wee bit cranky this morning.

The enormity of the losses in Morocco and Libya is heartbreaking, I can’t stop thinking about these horrific tragedies within days of each other. Those poor people. We are seeing the evidence of climate change in hurricanes, fires, floods, drought, excessive temperatures (I’m sure I’m leaving something out of this list.) What kind of world are we leaving behind? And what are we doing about it? Not enough, and whatever we do now may be too late.

I’m in such a dark mood this morning that I could go on and on about the state of the world and our country. But I’ll stop there. Older and, hopefully, wiser.

Sometimes.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: climate change, flowers, garden 29 Comments

Friday Potpourri

August 25, 2023 at 9:08 am by Claudia

Late summer garden.

♦ It rained yesterday and it’s raining as I write this. So, it’s been rather gray the past couple of days. But tomorrow should be somewhat sunny. I don’t mind the rain so much since we’ve had a respite from endless rain lately. Maybe we can make it through the weekend without having to mow! Wouldn’t that be nice?

♦ I’m very into War and Peace  lately, so I am way ahead of the normal chapter a day. If I keep this up, I’ll finish way before the end of the year. Normally, I read it first thing in the morning when my brain is calm and the most receptive. This morning, I slept in a little, so I didn’t have time. However, right after I write this post, I’m pulling it out. I’m so grateful for the Readalong. I absolutely know I wouldn’t have attempted to read it otherwise.

♦ Did anything happen in the news yesterday??? Any interesting photographs?

♦ I lazed around all day yesterday. At one point, I mentioned to Don that I had a list of things to do written in my planner and I hadn’t done any of them. Late in the afternoon, I went on overdrive and crossed them all off my list. Very satisfying! I also sorted through lots of magazines that were gathering dust and put them in the recycling bin. More today. I’m also donating two big bags full of fat quarters to our town’s Craft, Fabric & Yarn sale which is run by my friend Susan. We used to work together at Heidi’s shop. I’ve been carrying those bags around in the trunk of my car for a while now. At one point I had arranged to donate them to a local quilting group and had been communicating back and forth with someone about a place to meet to facilitate the transfer. Then, I never heard from her again. I have no idea why. Anyway, I was in the library the other day and there was a sign about the sale, so I messaged Susan on IG, and today I’ll drop everything off at the library.

Hurrah!

♦ I keep reading more and more about the new strain of Covid. My friend Noble has it now and he’s older than I am. His wife, Tina, said he got it the one time he didn’t wear a mask – on the train. Several of you have mentioned friends and family who came down with it after successfully keeping it at bay for 3 years. Don and I had stopped wearing masks when going to the store, but I’m planning on wearing one again. I’ve seen an uptick in local people wearing masks and I’m going to join them.

Hey, a mask covers my sagging neck, so why not? I look younger!

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

 

Filed Under: flowers, garden 46 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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