Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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A Very Good Week

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The first peony bloom of the season – from the bush that didn’t bloom at all last year. I have to move it in the fall because the tree that is next to it is overwhelming it with shade. But, for some reason, it was able to produce one big beautiful flower this year. I’m grateful.

The catmint is nectar central for all the bees. Honeybees, bumble bees – they’re all there. The constant buzz (literally) of activity is the best movie in town.

And later in the day, I saw this:

Henry lurking in the shadows. Was he watching the catbird? Or was he contemplating life?

I grabbed my camera and took some photos. Right after that, he turned toward the entrance to his den and disappeared. I think it might have been due to this guy on the edge of the back forty.

I think he lives under our next door neighbors’ shed.

But enough about all that. Let’s get to the meat of this post.

I have to go into the city on Saturday. Why?

Because I have a ticket to the matinee of Hamilton!!!!

Oh my goodness, I am beyond excited about this! Here’s how it happened. One of the guys working on the music for Escape to Margaritaville  also worked on Hamilton  for several years and continues to work on the tours. He and Don got to talking about that one day and Don mentioned that I really, really, really wanted to see it. He said that he has access to House Seats and did I want him to put me on the list?

YES. YES. YES. He asked me to pick three dates in June. I chose three matinee days. He submitted my name and our credit card info. Saturday turned out to be the day the box office thought might work best, but I was still on a waiting list and as this week went by, I began to give up hope. I mean, it’s Hamilton  and getting a ticket is nigh to impossible.

Yesterday, I asked Don whether he had heard anything yet from his friend who had told us that he would hear something the week of the performance. Don said he’d call him. Coincidentally, his friend was emailing him the confirmation at the same time Don was calling.

I’m in!

House seats aren’t free – they’re still pricey, but less expensive than the cost of seats being sold to the general public. I learned my lesson when I turned down the opportunity to buy a house seat to see the original cast when it was at the Public Theater. I grabbed this chance.

Whoo hoo!

A good week: the celebration of my dear friend Rick, Comey is testifying today, the Original Broadway Cast album of Anastasia  is being released tomorrow, and I’m seeing Hamilton  on Saturday!

Happy Thursday.

The Edge of Wild

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In a conversation with my husband, I stated that we live on the ‘edge of wild.’ And we do. We have wooded areas bordering our property and on  our property. Manicured lawns and weed free gardens are simply not in the realm of possibility. And at this time of year so many plants that would be called invasive or wild are blooming. It’s one of the delights of spring.

The pesky and prickly brambles are, for a short time, beautiful wild roses. The little white flowers are currently on display all over the property.

Rocket/wild phlox is blooming everywhere and, between the scent of the wild roses and that of the rocket, it’s smelling rather heavenly around here.

Behind the kitchen: wild roses and rocket.

And the black raspberries – also all over the property – are blooming, as well.

Thank you Mother Nature! Even though I have to cut back brambles and black raspberries, I appreciate the display you put on for us every spring.

I’m also looking forward to the raspberries.

In other areas of the garden:

Roses are about to bloom in the memorial garden.

And the climbing hydrangea is stepping up its game with more blossoms than ever. (It’s taken over 6 years to get to this point.)

I have to apologize to mama robin every time I head toward the shed or the trash can, because her nest is currently behind this climbing hydrangea. I always warn her that I’m coming and she flies out from behind the hydrangea, heading for a neighboring tree where she proceeds to chirp at me non-stop until I move away.

The other day, the UPS guy backed his truck up the driveway so that it was parked at the top of the drive. He handed over my package, I wished him well, and as he started to drive away, I heard the mama robin chirping. She was giving him the same warning that she gives me. I got such a kick out of it!

There are nests all over the property. Some I’m aware of; there’s one belonging to the brown thrashers that’s in the brambles right outside the kitchen window, there’s the nest behind the climbing hydrangea, there’s another one in the big bush that sits in the big garden bed (I see birds flying into the middle of that bush all the time.) And of course, there’s the nest in the boxwood, which has been repaired and made ready for more eggs. None so far.

I bought some mineral oil for cutting boards, per your advice. I cleaned the breadboard and then added two coats of the mineral oil. It’s looking beautiful!

Happy Sunday.

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.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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