Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Bee Balm, Birds, Bunnies and Scout

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Except for a brief period of lawn mowing, I pretty much stayed by my girl’s side most of the day. When I was outside, Don was with her. Because I don’t want her to have to deal with the den steps, I’ve been staying in the living room, sitting in the yellow chair, just like I did last summer when I was recovering from my surgeries. Brings back memories. Scout is hanging in there. She sleeps most of the day, but definitely wants us by her side during this scary time. I’m hoping that tomorrow will bring some easing of the eye movements. Cross your fingers. And thank you for your loving and supportive comments. I told Scoutie that she has a lot of friends out there who love her very much.

The bee balm has started blooming and I have to say it’s the tallest I’ve ever seen it!

Look at that! The tallest one is this photo has to be over 4 feet tall. I tried to take a picture of me standing next to it with my iPhone.

It looks like it just might attack me. But seriously, I’m 5’8″. That stalk has to be over 4 feet – maybe even 4 1/2 feet.

Bee balm has such an exotic look, doesn’t it? I love that shot of red in the garden.

My friend the catbird decided to rest for a bit on my thermometer/rain gauge.

Catbirds love a dip in the birdbath and I frequently see them there. Today I saw two little birds that I hadn’t seen before. I ran for the camera, but quick as a wink, they were gone. Finches, maybe? I’ve seen these two before. They landed for a brief moment on one of my hanging plants. I think they are a pair – male and female.

Today I saw a mom robin feeding her fledglings outside the kitchen window. I made myself turn away.  After last year’s worries over those robin fledglings and roaming cats, I can’t go there again. And my neighbors have outdoor cats. I wish they’d keep their darn cats indoors. I mean, they are their pets, right? When cats are let outside, birds, baby birds and baby bunnies become their prey – all of which live on my property. I’m sure I won’t make everyone happy with that statement, but I love all animals. Life is tough enough for baby animals and baby birds without being preyed upon by someone’s pet cat. I don’t let my dogs loose to roam around a neighbor’s property – if I did, I’d get complaints right and left. And I just get too caught up in the whole thing. I can’t help it. I want to save every creature. I want to protect fledgling birds and baby bunnies and the little chipmunks that are running here and there in my yard. This morning I looked out the window and there was a robin, a chipmunk and a bunny all doing their thing within a few feet of each other. That made me so happy. They were perfectly happy to be around each other – no one was threatened. All was peaceful.

Do you hear me cats? Those are the rules on my property, you little killers. Back off. Your owners are feeding you all sorts of nice cat food. You’re not being forced to survive in the wild. You don’t need to feast on anything living, thank you very much.

End of smallish rant.

Speaking of animal cuteness:

Checking out the shed area. My bunnies eat a lot of grass – I rarely see them in the garden – occasionally, but there’s a lot of grass to feast on here at the Cottage. We coexist rather nicely.

Happy Wednesday.

Sunday Bits

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A gorgeous morning. Rain may fall at some point in the day. It probably will. (It’s been like this for days.) I have to mow today…and clean…and organize. We have guests coming to stay for a couple of days mid-week. Nothing like the prospect of visitors to sharpen your ‘house and yard vision.’

I was looking for something yesterday and found something else. Didn’t I post about that sort of discovery earlier in the week? I found the door knocker I used in our little rental cottage. It’s such a pretty acorn and oak leaf design. Our doors, however, are metal and I don’t want to mess with all that. Since we have no doorbell, I thought I’d attach it to one of the porch posts – right by the porch entrance.

Now instead of shouting ‘Hello?’ (which is fine, by the way) perhaps a visitor will eye that door knocker and give it a nice, sharp, metallic rap.

I’m afraid I succumbed again.

I made more of the Rhubarb Snacking Cake.

I couldn’t help it. Rhubarb is only in season for a short time. And this rhubarb was grown locally. I mean, it’s my civic duty, don’t you think?

If you love rhubarb, make this. We are in love with it. It’s fabulous right out of the oven, but I like it refrigerated as well.

Don had some when he got home late last night. I had a piece this morning. And I’ll have another shortly.

Happy Sunday.

Our Funky Little Patio

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A couple of years ago, Don got the idea to add a patio space next to the house. Let me explain: when you drive up our driveway you reach the top, turn the car to the left and park. The car ended up being parked right next to the house, which was too close, thank you very much. So Don thought some separation might be called for. I was home for a week’s break in the middle of my 6 month stint in San Diego. So we went to the store, bought some pavers and some barrels and a birdbath and threw it together. We didn’t really level the area or put sand down or any of the recommended steps – we just did it. Three years later, it’s still here. The pavers are a bit crooked here and there, but it’s hanging in there.

I hope you are enjoying my high-tech visual aids. Since I harp on the peonies all the time, I thought you might like to see where they are on the property. See them at the top of the picture? They are all the way down by the road. The big garden bed starts just beyond the patio and slopes downward to the lawn. We park the car to the left.

I love, love the white chairs. We bought them at a local antique store several years ago. They’re extremely comfortable and you can rock in them. We used to have them way up in the back forty but we didn’t sit there very much (although it’s cool up there – you can see the mountains.)

So…yesterday I decided to add that galvanized tub on the right. And I planted lots of bright colored annuals in it.

I found the tub at our local Agway store. The plants are from my favorite local nursery.

Then I moved one of the benches from the porch to the funky patio. I always like to have a place to set down a cool drink or a book.

You know I love our porch, but sometimes I like to sit here. It’s a little further from the road and a wee bit more quiet. Some day, we’d love to add a fence between the big garden bed and the patio. It would nicely separate the areas and make the patio more private.

And look! Last year some of the impatiens that are planted in the barrels seeded between the pavers. Impatiens are annuals. They’re not supposed to come back. But there they are! A wee little miracle.

The patio is nothing to write home about. It’s not slick or professionally done. But it suits our little cottage and our lifestyle. I guess if the patio is funky, we must be, too.

Happy Saturday. It’s a rainy one here.

Oh, Northeastern gardeners: do you have more slugs than ever this year? We sure do. Every leaf on every plant has holes. I see those little buggers everywhere.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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