Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Hydrangeas

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Remember those hydrangeas? Last year, I thought they had been killed by an especially heavy snowfall. Many of you gave me advice, which I took, and they started coming back nicely last year. They’re even better this year.

Of course, we’re going to get very heavy rains today and tomorrow – there’s already a flood warning – so lord knows what will happen to them.

We’re going to shop for groceries this morning before the two-day deluge hits.

I saw the most adorable thing yesterday. The two baby rabbits were right outside the kitchen door and they were playing and/or sparring, I’m not sure  which. They would jump up and down on all fours, jump on each other, do it again and again. It was absolutely enchanting. Then they stopped and continued eating.

I haven’t seen Buddy (the one groundhog I’ve named) in a couple of days. He wasn’t near the tree on Friday afternoon and I didn’t see him at all yesterday. They drive me crazy at times, but I worry about them. Where did he go? I just pray he’s safe. Mama rabbit was dining on the grass here yesterday. A favorite sight: Mama lying on the ground, all stretched out, happily looking around. She’ll do that for a long time.

Don calls her Buddha.

What else? I started the day today reading Babel, then I meditated. I’ve been enjoying getting back to crossword puzzles again. I completed the three puzzles that I printed out, and am currently working on yesterday’s puzzle, which I printed out late in the day. And today, of course, is the Sunday puzzle. Not to toot my own horn, but I’m quite adept at solving them. But they’re a challenge and sometimes it takes me a couple of days to complete a puzzle. I love that challenge.

My rules: I never  do them with another person, just as I never do my jigsaw puzzles with anyone else. I don’t want help. If I can’t get a clue, then I can’t get it. And I do them in pen. I tried my favorite pencils long ago, but I’m really a pen person. Sometimes that means I have to write on top of an incorrect letter. So be it.

We haven’t turned on the a/c yet, but you can feel the humidity in the air. And now there’s a dust cloud from the Sahara headed here. Such a bizarre summer!

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

A Sultry Saturday

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More of this day lily, which blooms spectacularly. It doesn’t bloom for long but I must get about 30 gorgeous flowers. What a gift!

I’m wiped out today so it’s going to be a day of rest. Don and I mowed the rest of the front lawn and also the lilac side of the lawn and it was both physically tough and very hard in the dense humidity. But we knew we were going to have several days of showers and thunderstorms so it had to be done. I think we were finished by 10:30 or 11 am – so we avoided the worst of the humidity. We felt invigorated when we finished, but later? We crashed.

Today will be stormy, or so they say, so we’re going to stay inside and just plain hang out.

I started a subscription to the NY Times Crossword puzzle yesterday. I used to have one but I let it go several years ago. I’ve been missing the mental stimulation of the crossword as well as the zen-like state I’m in when I’m trying to solve it. It’s only $5/month and I figured I could afford that. I print them out on our printer. Truth be told, Don gave me a book of crosswords a couple of months ago and I finally did one of them yesterday. I was finished in less than 5 minutes. Too easy. Solving crosswords is a skill that develops with practice and I’m a bit rusty. But it’s coming back.

I’m not hearing much bird song when I first get up, but I’m a bit relieved because I just opened the door (at 7:43 am) and there was lots of bird song. I don’t want this summer to go by too quickly. I want to hear the birds and the tree frogs and the bullfrog next door. I can hear a mourning dove right now. Remember Lonesome Dove, the dove without a partner who hung out on the property? I miss him. And I miss Henry, that grand old gentle groundhog we loved for so many years.

Ah well.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Flowers and a Great Series

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The very hot and humid weather continues. My brain was mush yesterday and I couldn’t get anything accomplished. Took a long nap in the afternoon. I just don’t do well in this kind of weather. Supposedly, there are possible storms this afternoon. Right now, it’s not too bad out there so I might grab some time to finish mowing the front lawn.

Just, but not fully, opened. I love, love, love my coneflowers.

The coneflowers on the far side of the house are huge this year. I’ll try to grab a photo of them today.

I sowed a lot of zinnia seeds in the galvanized tub that sits on the funky patio. (Where I caught a groundhog trying to eat the leaves and had to move it up on top of the wooden bench.) My first bud has appeared.

There are far more zinnias than there should be in this little tub, but I don’t care. I’m not going to thin them out. What happens, happens – which has become my mantra this summer after dealing with deer, bunnies, and groundhogs. Though to be far, the bunnies haven’t been in the garden beds. They stick to the grass. If only their fellow creatures could follow their example.

We discovered a series that we love. We’re very much late to the party because it is currently on Season 6! I don’t know why we missed out on it until now. It’s called Black Mirror. Have any of you watched it? It’s an anthology series out of Great Britain and each episode is a stand-alone drama. To quote from the blurb about it: It is a “contemporary reworking of The Twilight Zone with stories that tap into the collective unease about the modern world, particularly regarding both intended and unintended consequences of new technologies and the effect they have on society and individuals.” The actors are terrific, the stories completely compelling, beautifully produced, and let me tell you, after each episode Don and I are immediately immersed in a deep conversation about what we’ve just seen. EXCELLENT. I recommend it highly.

Okay. I’m going to try to get out there early today. Maybe I can push that mower despite the struggle with the front wheel drive.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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