Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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Flowers & Pottery

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The last of the poppies opened up yesterday. So gorgeous.

Later in the day, I noticed the stem wasn’t holding it up very well (this is a tall one) so I staked it. Even though the blooms only last a couple of days, it should have its day in the sun, don’t you think?

And the bane of my existence, the brambles, have morphed into wild roses.

They’re starting to bloom all over the property. Between the wild roses and the Dame Rocket (wild phlox) it sure smells pretty around here.

I mowed the corral and the back forty yesterday, ran some errands and then I just drank in the beauty of a sunny day after so much rain. I need to appreciate these sunny days because they are all too rare lately. More rain on the horizon for Sunday and Monday.

I haven’t bought any Roseville pottery for a long time as prices have been on the high side. The other day, I was searching on eBay and saw a piece that was starting at a modest amount – a vase in the Dahlrose pattern. I don’t have any Dahlrose and I’ve always liked it. In the end, I won the auction – a bit more than I had planned on spending but still very reasonable.

It arrived yesterday. It’s in pristine condition. I really love it.

There’s a coda to this story. I felt a twinge of guilt when I bid on it and won, you know the feeling: Should I have bought this? The day after I purchased the vase, I got the standard email saying it had been shipped. And then I got a personal email from the seller in which he thanked me and said that the money was going to go toward his dog’s cancer surgery.

Guilt gone, only happiness that I can contribute to the cost of a dear pet’s surgery.

I’ve decided that I’m going to go to the Country Living Fair today and I’m heading out early. I don’t go every year and when I do go, I like to go on Friday before it gets crazily busy and crowded on the weekend. I’ll take some pictures.

I can’t even begin to talk about the despair I felt yesterday when #notmypresident withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord.

Happy Friday.

 

Whoa, Nellie

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Except for snow, we had a bit of everything around here yesterday. The day started out with rain. Thunderstorms were predicted, but the sun came out for several hours and the weather forecast changed to no storms. Then in the late afternoon, the sky darkened and I checked the weather app. Oh. Severe thunderstorm watch. And we got a doozy. Thunder, lightning, torrential rain, and hail. Then the sun came out. And then, at about 10 pm, another thunderstorm.

Whoa, Nellie.

From the day:

I recycled. I weed whacked. I pulled weeds. I ended up mowing the entire front lawn on a very humid day. We don’t live in an area where there are orderly plots of land with orderly grass that grows in an even, orderly way. Nope. We have different kinds of grass, weeds within the grass, buttercups in the grass, etc. So when it starts to get out of hand, it looks uneven and messy. So after all the rain, I was itching to mow the lawn. And I did.

After I took a break and showered, I went outside to take some pictures. I love a freshly mown lawn!

The dead nettle is blooming

As I was taking these pictures, the sky started darkening and that’s when I realized we were under a severe thunderstorm watch – which became a warning.

Back in the house.

After the rain, birds were everywhere, looking for worms.

This female northern flicker was in the corral.

My lonesome dove had clearly been caught in the rain.

And spotted way, way off in the woods:

A baltimore oriole.

This morning, as I was waiting for my coffee, I saw a hummingbird and a bunny rabbit within inches of each other. Alas, no camera.

I’ve seen two young mourning doves resting on the porch railing on two different occasions. Newly fledged, I imagine. And after the storm yesterday, I saw four mourning doves together, looking for food. So I’m surmising that the two young doves are the progeny of the pair of doves that live on the property.

Now, if only my lonesome dove could find a mate. The pair chases him/her away. Breaks my heart.

Happy Thursday.

Afternoon Tea in a Lovely Garden

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Yesterday, I had afternoon tea with my friends Noble and Tina. They live in a neighboring town in a very old house from the 1700s. Tina had surgery recently and I wanted to see how she was doing and give her a gift. Yes, one of the Guy Wolff pots was for her. She’s smart, that Tina; when she read my post about the pots where I mentioned one of them was a gift for a friend, she quickly figured out it was intended for her!

Tea was served at a little table on the lawn and the three of us had a lovely time together. Oh, I should say ‘four’ of us. Petey, my favorite little dog, was there.

Here he is after having taken over the cushion that Tina uses to elevate her feet. He assumed it was the perfect dog bed. And it was.

I want to share their garden with you. Noble does the gardening and it is simply beautiful. It’s a shade garden. Noble has a green thumb and a sense of design that is impeccable.

Meandering paths, benches tucked into the landscape, beautifully aged garden ornaments.

Now, that’s a gorgeous hosta!

Those are McCoy pots, by the way.

Isn’t it lovely? I feel like Noble’s garden is the adult garden and mine is…well…the teenager’s garden. This is when I envy a flat plot of land. Our slope is a pain in the tush and I confess, I haven’t tried to work around it except for the big garden bed. But I have plans.

I find Noble’s work to be inspiring, which is why I took a lot of photos yesterday.

Tina, who shouldn’t have, gave me a gift as well.

This little doggie who reminded her of Scoutie. And this book, a source of comfort for anyone who has lost a beloved pet. I haven’t read it yet. I’m saving that for later today.

I’m happy to report that Tina is mending nicely.

All in all, a lovely day in our little slice of heaven – the Hudson Valley.

Today? Rain.

Saying Happy Memorial Day never seems quite right when we are memorializing those who lost their lives in service to this country. So I’ll close with my usual:

Happy Monday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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