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

Zinnias

August 7, 2024 at 9:02 am by Claudia

For some reason, sowing seeds for zinnias in the garden beds near the memorial garden has pretty much failed for the past two years. In fact, this year, after nothing came up, I bought some more seeds and did the whole thing again. A grand total of two came up in one bed and one in the other bed. So, I planted seeds in this tub and, thankfully, they came through.

The long and narrow bed that I used the call ‘the chicken wire fence garden’ has stopped doing much of anything. I’ll try again next year and amend the soil, but I couldn’t do that this year because my hand was injured.

This photo is from a week or so ago. It’s been so hot and humid that I haven’t really done too much outside – except water, of course. And now it’s going to rain for the next few days. We need rain. We had way too much of it in the first half of the year, but lately, not nearly enough. The rivers have been very low and I saw some algae bloom in one of the two rivers that are near our house.

I finished the latest Daniel Silva, so now it’s back to The Mirror and the Light. Don is gobbling up books by Jim Harrison, which makes me happy. He goes through periods where he is not at all into reading books, so it’s nice to see him enjoying Harrison. Harrison was also a favorite of mine about 40 years ago. Wonderful writer.

We’re loving the Olympics but darned if it hasn’t screwed up our sleeping schedule! We’re creatures of habit and staying up an hour later than usual but waking up at the same time is taking a toll. Soon we’ll get back to normal.

I watched Kamala and Tim Walz speaking at my alma mater in Philadelphia yesterday. Wow! There’s a level of excitement and passion and hope I haven’t seen in a while. And JOY! I’m ready to do what I can for the campaign.

I have to go – Don is making scrambled eggs and he’s just about ready to bring some to my perch in the den.

Stay safe.

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: flowers 12 Comments

Muggy and a Monarch

July 15, 2024 at 8:41 am by Claudia

Wouldn’t banning assault weapons be a good thing to do?

Just thinking.

Heavens! I’m either completely lethargic, like I was Saturday, or I’m on overdrive, as I was yesterday. Maybe yesterday’s energy was due to my not venturing outside until later in the day. The a/c was on and I dusted, vacuumed, did a load of wash, straightened the slip cover on the sofa in the den (always a pain,) took many photos of the things I wanted to add to my Etsy shop, listed all the items (which means measuring, weighing, etc.) and then watered everything outside.

I wish I had that kind of energy on a daily basis.

It’s completely crappy out there; hazy, hot, and humid. I am doing my best to stay positive. Gratitude: working a/c units, my husband, who keeps me laughing, and the knowledge that this will break on Wednesday. Hopefully.

The day lilies on the far side of the house are blooming. As we sat down for the evening last night, Don said “Oh look! There’s a deer right outside the window!” I knew that meant trouble, and sure enough, he was ready to chomp on the day lilies.  I knocked on the window and he took off. Sweetheart, you’re beautiful, but stay away from my day lilies! This property is full of green things you can eat. Head on up to the woods.

My first Monarch sighting was yesterday.

I followed him around as he dined on every one of the coneflowers. But he was skittish and it was hard to get a clear photo.

At this point, I was on the porch leaning over the railing trying to catch that second when he would open his wings. A bit blurry, but I got it. I take that back – ‘she.’ She doesn’t have the black dots that the male has.

Don’s gig on Saturday was cancelled at the last minute. The owner of the bar (which apparently has a terrific menu) called Don because she hadn’t had any customers the night before and she was panicked about money. (She pays the performers, unlike a lot of other venues where the only money comes from tips.) She was very apologetic. Bless her heart, she’s trying to make a go of it and that’s very hard these days. I hope things pick up for her.

And, yesterday, I reached the point where I could I could not stand my hair any longer, so the team of Don and Claudia whacked 3 inches off. So much better!

There are a few new items in the Etsy shop.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: deer, flowers, garden, monarch butterfly 22 Comments

Flowers in the Garden

July 13, 2024 at 9:22 am by Claudia

One of the Rose of Sharon bushes is full of blooms. The other is a bit behind. I got the cuttings from my friend Noble at the same time, but “Junior” was not quite as big a cutting, so he’s grown more slowly. I actually like this because I’ll have blossoms on the other bush when this one is fading.

Thank you, Noble, for these sweet little cuttings you gave me several years ago. Noble and Tina have since moved to another house, but in their former garden he planted several Rose of Sharons flanking a path and they were magnificent.

I weeded for quite a while yesterday, mostly by hand, because the battery died on the weed whacker. I didn’t get to mulch this year, so the big garden bed is full of weeds and I’m just now able to ruthlessly pull them out. The mulching didn’t happen because of my hand injury, as well as a flat tire on the much needed-for-mulching wheelbarrow. So the weeds are a bit of a pain. I’ll weed whack a bit more this morning and then, on Sunday through Wednesday when we’re hit with another round of heat and humidity, I’ll stay inside. The long range forecast shows temps dropping into the eighties after this next blast. Fingers crossed.

The gift that keeps on giving. I have to say it: right at this moment, our gardens are darned charming. And now that the brown-eyed/black-eyed susans are flowering, there’s a wonderful splash of yellow and brown, along with the red of the bee balm.

I contacted my friend who has Wren. She said the delay for the replacement body will be 8 months! So we chatted about the broken finger, which she had glued back on, and I decided I was fine with that. So I’m going to sell a few more things on Etsy to help with the funding – have to work on that today – and I should have her within a month.

I have to help Don with a self-tape audition this morning. He’s got a gig tonight.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

 

 

Filed Under: flowers, garden 16 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • …
  • 308
  • 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

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT