Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for garden

The Edge of Wild

June 4, 2017 at 8:30 am by Claudia

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.

Filed Under: birds, flowers, garden, wildflowers 26 Comments

Flowers & Pottery

June 2, 2017 at 6:55 am by Claudia

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.

 

Filed Under: country living fair, flowers, garden, Roseville pottery 48 Comments

Whoa, Nellie

June 1, 2017 at 8:40 am by Claudia

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.

Filed Under: birds, flowers, garden, rain, trees, weather 41 Comments

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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.

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