Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for garden

Hijinks

June 18, 2016 at 9:51 am by Claudia

Late afternoon animal hijinks at the cottage.

Baby bunny was munching on the grass in the memorial garden.

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I have to shoot these pictures through our windows, so they are not the best quality. But oh, is this one a cutie.

I looked up and saw Henry slowly walking towards the shed and disappearing into the entrance to his home. And then about 5 minutes later, I saw a groundhog near the garden. I don’t think it was Henry because this one didn’t look quite as big, but I can’t be sure – Henry sightings have been few and far between this summer.

6-18 henry?

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Hmmm….what is he thinking, I wonder?

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And he’s going in.

Which prompted an opening of the front door on my part in an attempt to dissuade him from chomping on my garden. What he loves, I think, is the crown vetch that you can see everywhere in these photos. Crown vetch can be invasive and I regularly yank it when it threatens other plants in the garden.

But it also spills over the edges of the garden. So I don’t mind him eating it as long as he doesn’t decimate it – it comes back very quickly.

Nevertheless, I’m keeping my eye on him! I could see evidence that he’d been there before.

6-18 crownvetch

The crown vetch is in bloom at the moment and it’s quite beautiful. Remember yesterday’s post where I said I hadn’t seen very many bumblebees? Well, I did yesterday; apparently, they love these blooms.

6-18 crownvetch2

Don is really enjoying Instagram and is taking a lot of photos, so I gave him my old Canon to play around with. Early evening found us both outside taking pictures. He has a great eye.

Essential reading from yesterday’s New York Times. Absolutely essential.

Enjoy your weekend, my friends.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: animals, flowers, garden, groundhogs 34 Comments

Glider-Grateful

June 17, 2016 at 9:32 am by Claudia

6-17 beecatmint

At any given moment, there are dozens of bees swarming around each of the catmint plants in the garden. They move so quickly, it is almost impossible to capture them via the camera. But if sheer luck decides to grant me a favor, I manage it. I wasn’t sure I actually succeeded until I cropped this photo. Hello, bee! Lots of bees in the garden, honey bees in the Catalpa. That’s a good sign, though I haven’t seen many bumblebees. I love bumblebees.

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Yesterday’s view of some of the At Last roses. Today, I spy many fallen petals on the ground.

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Some bug is eating the leaves on the coneflowers over in the side garden. And another coneflower has been chomped on by, I suspect, a little bunny.

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Don and I sat on the glider yesterday for a couple of hours and it was so lovely. A perfect weather day, with birds chirping, the perfect view and every time the gentle breeze moved the blossoms, the scent of the catalpa flowers came our way. It doesn’t get much better than that.

We read, we talked, we reminded each other of what everything looked like when we first moved in to the cottage in 2005 and how far we’ve come in the past almost-eleven years. We talked about the tough times when we’ve struggled to make ends meet. They still occur. But somehow, we’ve managed to make it- sometimes on a wing and a prayer. You have no idea.

There’s never a time when we aren’t grateful for this patch of land that is ours. After years and years and years of renting, we found our little paradise and we never take it for granted.

T-minus one week and counting, my friends. Don’s birthday is one week from today!

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: bees, Don, flowers, garden, Mockingbird Hill Cottage 16 Comments

Flora and Fauna Update

June 16, 2016 at 8:34 am by Claudia

I’m afraid my posts are going to be rose-heavy for a while! The new roses from Martha are so beautiful and each new bloom is perfection. I deliberately purchased two pots with the roses already growing instead of bare root roses. I’ve also purchased bare root roses in the past, but this time I wanted to see some blooms quickly.

The At Last roses:

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And my Lady Elsie May bush started blooming. It’s in the front-of-the-house garden bed. Both that bush and the Julia Child bush were in such bad shape last summer, due to two brutal winters in a row, that I thought they were goners. I cut the dead wood back as best I could, then did another trim this spring. They’re sort of unattractive at the moment, a mixture of old and new growth, but they’re blooming!

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Huzzah!

I was outside yesterday, pulling weeds, watering the plants, filling the bird bath – which was the site of constant bathing and drinking activity yesterday. Non-stop. Even the bees and bugs were sipping the water. As I walked around the front of the property, the scent from the Catalpa tree blossoms kept wafting through the air. I don’t know if you’ve ever smelled a Catalpa blossom, but the scent is heavenly. The blooms are open on all the Catalpa trees around here – there are a lot of them in this neck of the woods. Heck, we have three  Catalpas, but two of them are up in the wooded area of the property.

6-15 catalpablossoms

The blossoms are beautiful and delicate. Catalpas have big heart-shaped leaves.

6-15 catalpa

I sat on the glider and read for a while, listening to the bird song and watching the activity all over the property. It was very soothing, which was what I needed.

Critter update: I saw Henry the other day. I hadn’t seen him for weeks, but there he was, resting on the ramp that leads to the shed door.

Don spotted the baby fox a couple of days ago. Once again, he trotted across the street, causing cars to slow down and us to shoo him away from the street. Yesterday, I looked out the kitchen door and he was in our yard (he’s bigger now) so I opened the door. He looked up at me and ran around the back side of the shed.

This morning, my favorite Mourning Dove was in the new Memorial Garden bed, and two bunnies (Mom and baby) were chomping on the grass. The dove used to have a mate, but I haven’t seen the other dove this year, so he/she must have died. That makes me sad. I think my favorite bird is the Mourning Dove. In fact, I can hear her right now. The call is so beautiful (I love anything in a minor key) and they are so gentle. I see her at the birdbath every once in a while, too.

Don’s day on the set of Mr. Robot  went well, but he was pretty exhausted by the time he got home last night. He is supposed to shoot two more episodes in the coming weeks.

And there you go.

Happy Thursday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: animals, birds, Don, flowers, garden, groundhogs 43 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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