Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

  • About MHC
    • Disclosure
  • Dollhouses/Minis
    • Hummingbird Cottage
    • The Studio (Formerly TSP)
    • Dove Cottage
    • The Lake House
    • The Folk Art Dollhouse
    • The Modern Dollhouse
    • Dollhouse Source List, Information and Tutorials
  • On the Road
  • Collecting
    • Roseville Pottery
    • McCoy Pottery
    • Egg Cups
    • Bakelite
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Archives for flowers

And On It Goes

August 6, 2022 at 8:02 am by Claudia

The limelight hydrangeas are in bloom. A small bush, planted maybe 7 or 8 years ago, is HUGE! Every year it gets fuller and fuller.

But my little hydrangea that I planted in the chicken wire fence garden had only one bloom this year. That has never happened.  I do believe it gets too much sun, especially this year, but the blooms weren’t appearing even before the heat wave. I’m scratching my head on that one. I may need to move it.

This heat wave is never-ending. On and on it goes, through Monday or Tuesday. It’s too miserable to be outside except in the early morning. We did get a bit of rain yesterday. A bit. We had a gentle rain shower early in the afternoon. It probably lasted 10 minutes. Then in the late afternoon, we had another shower of 10 -15 minutes. But in each case, there was lots of thunder off in the distance and neighboring communities had big storms. Nothing here.

If only this could happen in the winter instead; everyone else gets big snowfalls, and for some strange reason, we get nothing. That  I would be happy about.

But some rain is better than none and I’m grateful for it, if only for the fact that I don’t have to hand water this morning.

I’m going to do some prep work this morning on one of the shows I’m coaching. At some point this weekend, I am going to put the puzzle back in the box and free the kitchen table for tax deduction work.

Exciting weekend, right?

We’re going stir crazy, but only because the heat and humidity is so bad and has been for over a week and a half.

Sigh.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: flowers, garden 10 Comments

Endless Heat

August 4, 2022 at 9:08 am by Claudia

Thanks so much for all of your wonderful comments yesterday!

It’s really just a little blip of an appearance on the screen. A re-emergence from retirement for a brief moment to be of service. But it was fun and unexpected. And most importantly, it was very moving to be in that room, sharing the scene with Jim and Ben, especially. Add in Bill Irwin and Sally Field and there’s the icing on the cake. By the way, Sally and Bill are incredibly kind and nice and funny. On their last day on the set, Bill stopped and told me how happy he was that we got to work together in that scene.

Anyway, on to the realities of this day: a heat advisory, an air quality advisory, and temperatures that will be well over 100 degrees when you add in the humidity. I’ve already been out to hand water all the plants, but of course, there’s only so much I can do. I’ll water again later in the day or early in the evening. We will be in this insane stretch of weather through the weekend.

This has been an awful summer – abnormally high temperatures that would be okay for a day or two, but, instead, stay here for two weeks at a time. Then a slight break, and they’re back again. My plants are suffering, the lawn is brown. It’s just dreadful.

Adding to that are my allergies which are particularly bad in this kind of weather.

Okay. Enough complaining. I have a lot of work to do. But brain fog is not helping me accomplish anything at the moment. All I want to do is sleep. I can see why siestas are so popular!

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

 

 

Filed Under: flowers, garden 8 Comments

Is That Rain?

August 1, 2022 at 8:55 am by Claudia

In a shocking turn of events, we actually got a little rain overnight. And not stormy torrential rain, but a gentle rain that might have had time to soak the ground.

We need much, much more, but I’ll happily take it – especially when it means I don’t have to hand water everything, which takes at least an hour and a half.

Let’s keep it coming, Mother Nature!

I have to do some dialect research today. During the next two weeks, I also have to figure out all of my deductions from last year, which will be complicated because I was in NYC for 6 weeks working. The State of NY doesn’t always understand that we sometimes take deductions because we have to move to the city for some of our work. Case in point: Escape to Margaritaville  and now, Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies. It’s also involves a lot of paperwork and today I’m going to corral all the receipts, clear my desk, and prep for the work ahead.

I’d much rather be working on my puzzle or playing with dolls or taking photos.

Reminder to self: You’re an adult. These things must be done.

We have a very hot week ahead of us. On Thursday, the temperature is supposed to reach 98°. That’s not counting the humidity which will shoot it up into the 100s. August has never been a favorite month of mine. In Michigan, where I grew up, August was always the month where it got very humid. It also signals the beginning of summer’s end. When I was a kid, that meant going back to school. When I was an adult who was a teacher it meant the same thing. Now that I’m an adult who is a gardener, it means the waning of my gardens.

Not a fan.

Okay, my friends. Happy August, nonetheless.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: flowers, garden, rain 26 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • …
  • 310
  • Next Page »
  • Email
  • Instagram

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.

Thanks for stopping by.

Searching?

The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

Disclosure/Privacy Policy can be found in the Navigation Bar under ‘About MHC.’

Also, I love receiving comments! I do, however, reserve the right to delete any comment that is in poor taste, offensive or is verging on spam. It’s my blog. If you’re a bot or a troll you’ll be blocked. Thanks!

Archives

All Content © 2008 - 2025 Mockingbird Hill Cottage · Log in