Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

You are here: Home / Archives for flowers

A Hot Weekend Ahead

at by

The bridal veil spirea is in full bloom; lots of frothy blossoms down by the edge of the road. A big thank you to whatever previous owner decided to plant it years ago – I so enjoy these beautiful little flowers. A mass of white in the midst of the spring green that is everywhere.

I worked outside yesterday, knowing that for the rest of the weekend, we’d be trapped inside due to the heat that will plague us today and tomorrow. A heat index of 97 or 98 today, only slightly less tomorrow. Then the usual threat of severe thunderstorms as the front exits and we drop 20 degrees on Monday. The weather has been truly insane. I noticed that Colorado got snow yesterday!

I mowed the lilac side of the lawn, pruned some bushes, and pulled lots of weeds. After I finish this post, I’ll go outside and water everything before it gets too hot.

Thanks so much for all your comments yesterday. There are a lot of introverts here, but there are also those who consider themselves extroverts. Or a mix of the two. I am very friendly when out and about, I smile, I hold doors open, I often interact with babies (they tend to like me,) I talk to people in line, I’m chatty with store clerks. I helped a woman carry a shopping trolley up two flights of subway stairs when I was living in NYC. That’s my nature. It’s also Don’s nature. I was raised to be friendly and polite and helpful, to put others at ease. Interactions are wonderful, but they don’t require much beyond that moment in time. It’s prolonged social interactions, crowds, having to hit the on button and stay there for a long time – that’s all very hard for me. When at a large gathering Don and I often joke about our need to have an exit strategy; “When do you think we can leave?”

I wouldn’t go on a tour with lots of people; it would drive me crazy. Same for a cruise. I love to travel, but I usually do it with Don or, in the case of coaching, alone, and I like to explore on my own, on my terms.

Oh, I could go on and on, but I’ll stop there.

I am going to get that book and the other book that was mentioned in the comments. It helped to hear your thoughts about them.

A bee dining on Solomon’s Seal.

So, given the temperature, we’re hanging out indoors today. For those of you facing this same heat wave, stay safe and hydrate. Better yet, stay inside!

I’ll leave you with this:

Wren, standing by my easel wondering why I’m not painting anything.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Stormy

at by

I did take it easy yesterday, save for the usual laundry. I’ll do that again today because we have major storms headed our way this afternoon. Late in the afternoon yesterday, we had a doozie of a thunderstorm, which seemed to go on forever. Thunder, lightning, crazy winds with torrential rain. The wind direction seemed to change every few minutes, sheets of rain were pummeling us from every direction. The power went out briefly; interestingly, right before the storm.

Today’s forecast has red exclamation points everywhere. I suppose that’s because there is also the danger of a tornado. I’ll freely admit all of this makes me nervous.

Right now, it’s still a bit foggy and fairly quiet out there.

In the afternoon, I spent a few hours watching a giveaway online. The Blythe community is pretty special. One of the members of that community passed away from colon cancer not long after I started collecting my girls. She was far too young. She was apparently a wonderful, supportive, and funny person who everyone adored. One of her friends did an incredible job of organizing a fund raiser for cancer research. Many, many artists donated their creations for a massive giveaway, which was organized into bundles with different themes. The actual drawing was yesterday. I had purchased a couple of tickets, but didn’t win anything. And boy, were the prizes spectacular! But what was most impressive as we all tuned in for the live drawing was the wonderful sense of community. The fundraiser raised over 10,000 pounds – the equivalent of more than $14,000. Bravo!

Deeply into the new Elizabeth George and I suspect I’ll be reading this afternoon, trying to tune out the storms, which, frankly, sound dangerous. Praying that we’re spared, that everyone  is spared.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

 

Lilacs & Daffodils

at by

The fragrance wafting from these lilacs is glorious. We don’t have as many blooms as in other years, but that’s okay. They’re simply beautiful.

It’s very warm here – too warm, in truth. It was also quite humid yesterday. But, it’s sunny, the birds are singing, and the grass is growing too quickly! It’s been only 5 days since we mowed and it’s already time to mow again.

Yesterday we ran errands; I returned some books to the library, picked up a package at the post office, stopped at our storage facility to get the window air conditioner for the bedroom, and stopped at the grocery store. Then, to make a very long story short, we found that we had to replace that a/c unit, so off we drove to Lowe’s to get a new one – not in our budget, of course, so that’s worrisome – but we got it, drove back home, and after some frustration, installed it in the window.

Next up, the downstairs window unit, but we’re going to wait a few days on that one. It’s currently on the floor of the craft closet in our office. And it’s heavy.

Don just took off with his Crown Graphic camera to take some pictures. He’s in training again, relearning how to work it, how to focus, and how to hold it. He’ll work a couple of hours just as he did when he first started; ask a few people if they’d mind volunteering, and play with light and focus. The farmer’s market starts in three weeks, so he has to have some practice sessions before then.

There are more daffodils than ever in the big garden bed; likewise in the patch beyond the shed. They’re truly gorgeous this year.

Okay. I’m going to make this short and do a little work outside. There’s not much to do, except mow, so I may mow the lilac side of the lawn where two robins are currently guarding their nest somewhere nearby. I haven’t been able to figure out where it is, but the robins are fierce!

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

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