Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Happy: I Love This Time of Year

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Slow start this morning! That may be due to a bout of lawn mowing during the most humid and hot part of the day yesterday. What were we thinking? I don’t think we knew it was that humid when we decided to mow. And by the time we realized it…it was too late. We were really tired at the end of the day.

I also made Don get the older air conditioner that we used to use in the office (formerly guest bedroom) out of the shed. That room was impossible to work in because of the incredibly hot temps we’ve been having. Sweating, just having finished mowing, we lugged it upstairs and put it in the window, all the while crossing our fingers that it would work.

It did, thank goodness! We didn’t want to buy yet another a/c unit.

5-31 wildflowers

Wildflowers blooming right under the kitchen window.

5-31 clematis

The clematis is blooming like crazy!

5-31 wildroses

Wild roses, which are blooming all over the property. They are so delicate and beautiful. The rest of the year I curse them, of course, as I get stuck by the thorns. But right now? I love them.

I am so happy when I can work in the gardens, mow the lawn, look at our beautiful property that we love so much. Yesterday, as I was mowing, I kept saying to Don, “Isn’t it beautiful?” I’m very grateful. Tired…but grateful.

At the end of the day, we had the most spectacular sunset that turned the whole sky orange and lasted for at least 30 minutes. It went on and on and it was glorious,

5-31 sunset

You can see it reflected off our neighbor’s solar panels. Gorgeous.

The winner of a copy of June  is Joan. Joan, I have sent you an email asking for your mailing address. Congratulations!

I’ve posted some more photos of Postmark Books on Just Let Me Finish This Page. Stop on by!

Happy Tuesday.

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Too Darn Hot

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Cripes. It’s been so hot here that we are under an air quality warning and have been for the past couple of days. It ‘felt’ – according the the weather report – close to 100 yesterday. Where the heck did Spring go? I’ve been staying in, just venturing out to keep water in the birdbath (they are drinking and bathing there almost constantly) and to water my seeds and potted plants.

All the rain that was predicted last week never materialized and we could really use some. I hope that tomorrow’s predicted rain comes. The birds, the animals, the plants, the grass – they all need a break.

5-29 catmint

The catmint has really taken off – purple blooms everywhere.

5-29 yarrow

Yarrow that has self-seeded over by the Chicken Wire Fence Garden.

5-29 clematisvines

Clematis twining and looping and blooming.

5-29 windchimes

Wind chimes moving gently in the breeze – when there is  one.

I read a book in a day and a half. It’s titled Security  and it’s by Gina Wohlsdorf. On my Kindle in eGalley form, it is un-putdownable. A high-tech thriller so well plotted and written that I was mesmerized. I’ll write a brief mini-review on Just Let Me Finish This Page today. It will be published on June 7th. Don was out doing a gig last night and there was nothing that interested me on television, so I just kept reading. And then I picked it up this morning and finished it. I love having a nice chunk of time in which to lost myself in a book. It’s the best.

Is anyone, other than Melanie, seeing ads that block the text or photos? I don’t mean the drop down ads that are sometimes above the first post. Those do open up and expand but are easily closed back up. I don’t seen anything on any of my browsers and I use Safari, Chrome and Firefox. I think it might be adware that’s on her browser, but I want to check with the rest of you.

Happy Sunday.

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Flora and Fauna at the Cottage

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5-26 geranium

The weather was so hot yesterday that I spent a lot of time watering the newly planted barrels and pots and planters. The hollyhock was drooping under the heat of the sun. That got watered, too. More heat today, tomorrow and into next week.

Mother Nature, it’s too soon.

Luckily, we put the a/c window units in on Monday, knowing what was coming. It’s nice and cool inside the house.

5-26 rocket

I pulled a lot of weeds. Cripes, there are so many already! I trimmed a couple of stray mini bushes that are growing in the big garden bed – there’s a wild honeysuckle trying to take over, a mini catalpa, and heaven knows what else. Their roots are deep so it’s tough getting them out of the bed. So, I just keep pruning them throughout the summer until it’s too hot to care anymore.

Birds are using the birdbath constantly. A sip of water, a refreshing bath; there’s lots of activity. And bunnies are everywhere. In fact, they’ve been getting into the big corral and then they can’t remember how they got in and we have to guide them out. After a few efforts at herding them from inside  the corral and seeing them freak out in panic, now we do it from the other side of the fence. It’s an interesting turn of events. They rarely made their way inside the corral when Scout and Riley were alive. But now? Those scamps are in there all the time.

I haven’t seen Henry in a long time. In fact, I haven’t seen him since I opened the front door to get him out of the big garden bed. He ran off quickly, as groundhogs do whenever they hear a sound. And I haven’t seen him since. Maybe he is a she and babies are being born? Maybe he decided to move on? Maybe he’s exploring other parts of the property? I have no idea. But I miss him.

My neighbor tells me they have groundhogs living under their shed, as well.

5-26 boxwood

Plants in the photos: Geranium, Dame’s Rocket (a wildflower), and Boxwood.

I have a book review scheduled for tomorrow. Early tomorrow afternoon, we will be headed to Hartford to see the Opening Night performance of Anastasia. I can’t wait to see it again and I can’t wait for Don to see it.

Happy Thursday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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