Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Wildflowers and Egg Cups

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Running a little late today! I was awake for several hours in the middle of the night, but, thankfully, I went back to sleep. I slept until 8:30! Unheard of. So I’m inhaling my coffee in order to wake up enough to write a post.

It’s going to rain today – maybe some storms, as well

Boy, this time of the year is so lush and green and wildflowers are everywhere. I have more fleabane and wild phlox than ever before. I walked around the property yesterday and found wild phlox in little pockets where it has never been before. I love that. Mother Nature is establishing little gardens for me that are full of unexpected delights.

I love my home and gardens.

Quiet: The Power Of Introverts In A World That Can’t Stop Talking   arrived in yesterday’s mail. I can’t wait to start it. Another jigsaw puzzle also arrived because I just can’t paint at the moment and after the news of the tragedy in Uvalde and, now, the inaction of the police, I am so full of rage and despair that I think a little puzzle action is needed. It calms me. This time, I am going to be very careful with my back.

Yesterday Don and I went on our monthly date for Five Guys french fries. It’s such a simple thing, but it’s such fun. We have great conversations while sitting in the car eating the fries, and we people-watch as well. But first, we visited Barnes & Noble where I found the new issue of Country Living.

A lovely group of egg cups; simply but beautifully staged. In the top row, second from the left, is my Jadeite egg cup. And in the bottom row, third from the left, is my Delft egg cup from Holland. I didn’t think much about it beforehand, but I’m so glad they included it. My mom gave it to me. When she heard I was starting a collection of egg cups, she started looking for them when she was out and about. This was one of her finds. So it is very dear to me.

It’s a full page in the magazine, so I’m pleased. Don wants me to frame it and I think I will.

Today? I’m taking it easy. I have lots of books to read: I’ve currently got three going, which is rare for me.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

It’s Those Decade Markers

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I have never seen so much fleabane on the property as I have this year. This photo was taken in the secret garden. The flowers cover the both sides of the stepping stones and the entire area bordering the back of the house that faces the garden. It’s amazing. I have to do some hop-scotch type moves to navigate the stepping stones. (That’s the rain barrel in the distance.) The petals are a combination of lavender and white. If I observed them more, I might notice if they start out as lavender and then change to white. I’ll try to figure that out.

It’s time to mow again. I’m not sure when we’ll do it, but it looks like we haven’t mowed in weeks when, in fact, we mowed less than a week ago. That’s the way of the world in the spring.

I’m starting to work on the finishing touches on Dove Cottage. I’ve been playing with the same mini pea gravel that I used in the rooftop garden on Hummingbird Cottage. I like it, but as much as I try to glue it down, it’s sort of impossible. And now I’m thinking that I need some stepping stones leading up to the door, with pea gravel around them. This pot of mums arrived yesterday. I have a few other things ordered as well. I need to finish this up and move it elsewhere so I can start in on the Beacon Hill while I’m still “young” enough to do all the work.

A glimpse into my mind right now: I’m headed toward my 70th birthday in November, and like all decade markers for me, it’s a time full of introspection. My posts about being an introvert come from that. I wake up some mornings panicked about how little time I might have left. Or panicked about how much stuff I have and realizing I need to make lists, provide information about all the things I collect (prices, provenance, etc.) in some big notebook. At the same time, I want to keep growing and learning and playing and creating – I don’t want to fall into the trap of thinking that possibilities are disappearing or fading. And all of that is up to me.

Thanks. I needed to share that so I could get some perspective.

Livvy: all set for summer.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

The Secret Garden, Books, and Pippa

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Yesterday morning in the Secret Garden. Wildflowers are springing up everywhere. There’s lots of fleabane and some wild phlox. It’s very, very wet there as we’ve had so much rain!

Wild phlox popping up in the rock garden.

Aside from mowing and planting the vintage pots, I haven’t done much else in this space. I’m debating whether to pull some of the weird grass that pops up in the path that leads to The Dude. Do I get in there and get rid of it, or do I just leave it there? No one can answer that question but me. And I’m feeling lazy at the moment.

It was incredibly hot and humid yesterday and, after some great time on the porch in the early morning, we stayed in. Both of us said that the combination of heavy humidity and pollen was making us feel tired and foggy-brained. I know that I felt completely out of it on both Saturday and Sunday. Later in the day, while talking to my sister on the phone, a big storm rolled in – though thankfully, not as big as the storms last weekend – and today it is much cooler around here. Hurrah!

I was reading one of my other books by Elizabeth George while in bed last night and I suddenly realized that I’d read it before, even though it was in my To Be Read pile. So I grabbed the other one that was also in that pile and started in….already read that one, too! Whoops! I think there’s only one Elizabeth George that I haven’t read and I’m going to order it from the library.

So this morning finds me looking around trying to decide what I’m in the mood to read next. In the meantime, I’m reading a short and delightful book from Slightly Foxed/Foxed Quarterly  – A Boy at the Hogarth Press  by Richard Kennedy. Kennedy worked for Leonard and Virginia Woolf for a while when he was young. It’s a lovely memoir of his time there, complete with his pen and ink drawings. Kennedy went on to be a well-regarded illustrator.

I grabbed a few moments outside yesterday and took Pippa with me:

Here she is in the memorial garden.

And in the secret garden:

The girls are enjoying the opportunity to explore the property.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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