Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Sleepy Saturday

August 1, 2015 at 9:10 am by Claudia

Yesterday, I dropped Don off in a neighboring town around dinner time, where he caught a ride to the music festival with a fellow musician friend. When Don called me around 10 pm, he described a place where people were camped everywhere, where music was playing on three different stages, and where he most likely won’t get much sleep. But he’s around music and musicians and is looking forward to listening and learning and meeting new friends. It’s rather a big folk festival and it culminates with a performance from Judy Collins tomorrow evening. Both Don and I are big fans of her music and both of us have met her at different points in her career; I met her in the early seventies, Don met her more recently. She has the voice of an angel.

As always seems to be the case on the first night Don is away, it took me a long time to get to sleep last night, but I woke up at the same time I do every morning – early. So I’m a little bit sleep deprived.

8-1 butterfly bush

The butterfly bush is in bloom.

But I got up, made some coffee, let Dame Scout out, and saw the male cat race off into the woods. Ever hopeful is that boy.

And then, instead of immediately turning my laptop on, I sat here and read for a couple of hours. Ahhh. It was simply wonderful. Windows open, birds chirping, the dull sound of traffic on our road, Scoutie in the tunnel, and words making a whole new world come alive for me.

A good start to the day.

8-1 sweatbee

A tiny, tiny bee near the coneflowers.

A slow, laid-back day lies ahead, with reading, perhaps some work on the Top Secret Project (depends on my ‘tired’ level), and of course, taking care of Scout.

The other day, I stopped at the post office to check my mailbox there, something I hadn’t done in a while. There was a package waiting for me, and I thought to myself, “Ooooh! Someone sent me a present!”

And then I did a double-take. It was addressed to none other than Scout. Oh, it was sent in care of Don and me, but it was definitely for the Dame. When I told the guy behind the desk at the Post Office that is was for my dog, he laughed.

It was from a wonderful reader of this blog, Kathy.

So I brought the package home and helped Scout open it.

8-1 scout's present

Oh boy! Well, Scout simply had to sample one right away. The verdict is in, Kathy. She loves them.

Scout took it upon herself to email Kathy and thank her. I don’t know how she manages to get on my computer, but that girl has some serious skills, so I put nothing past her.

I’ll say it officially here, as well. Thank you, Kathy! Scout loves her present and she was quite taken with the fact that the box had her name on it. xoxo.

I’m off to sip some more coffee.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: flowers, garden, gifts, Scout 30 Comments

As We Head Into The Weekend

July 31, 2015 at 8:07 am by Claudia

For those of you who didn’t see my updates in yesterday’s comment section: the latest on the cat story. Late in the morning, Don remarked that he saw a big male cat headed toward the orange tabby in heat (who was, once again, on our porch). I jumped up, scared him off, and watched our girl continue to rub and writhe and present her hind end as an enticement to our visitor.

I scared the intruder off a second time. And then I called my neighbor, all the while trying to keep their cat on our porch, and told her what was going on. She came over and managed to grab the cat. I didn’t see little Amber the rest of the day, so I assume they’re keeping her indoors. Meanwhile, the male cat came back twice, each time calling for her.

He finally gave up.

Two cats on our property are two cats too many. I don’t want them near our birds.

7-31 hens&chicks bloom

The hens and chicks in the garden bed in front of the porch blooms every year. I had to get down to ground level to get this photo. Pretty, don’t you think?

7-31 porchhangingplants

Don is headed out to spend the weekend at a music festival. This is the kind of festival where there are musicians performing 24 hours a day. I’m exhausted just thinking about it. He’s slotted at 12:15 am – early Sunday morning. He’s taking a sleeping bag, as everyone is camping on site. I can only hope the temperatures drop a bit, so he can sleep well. I’m driving him to a neighboring town this afternoon, where he’s going to meet up with a friend who’s giving him a ride. We’ve only got one car and I can’t be without a car for a whole weekend!

I hope he has a great time!

7-31 roseville

This will be a good opportunity to work on the Top Secret Project. Some paint choices need to be made and some more construction needs to be done. I’m really looking forward to learning new techniques as I go about creating the interior.

Today is my mom’s birthday. I miss you, Mom. Happy Birthday.

Happy Friday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: cats, Don, flowers, garden, miniatures 35 Comments

Peak

July 28, 2015 at 8:43 am by Claudia

A peek at the peak of the garden, as photographed in the early evening.

7-28 cottagegarden

7-28 cottagegarden3

7-28 pinkphlox

7-28 sidegarden

7-28 tiny bug

(Just because I love this tiny little winged insect.)

7-28 cottagegarden2

7-28 sidegarden2

7-28 limelight

7-28 porchandpatio

Sometimes I look at all of this and a little voice reminds me that ‘living in a cottage in the country and having a garden’ was a dream I held for most of my adult life. The cottage part of the dream was taken care of when moved here at the end of the summer in 2005. As for the garden, there were some sedum and hostas, but basically, this was a blank space.

I had to hold off on my garden dreams until the spring of 2006. It’s taken me ten summers of digging out hundreds of rocks, amending the soil, digging new beds, adding just a few plants each spring (always on a strict budget,) experimenting, shaping, and crossing my fingers to get here. Here  to this abundant and verdant space tucked in alongside the cottage, with dense woods just a few steps away.

I pinch myself and feel such gratitude for a dream finally realized.

Not that I could afford it, but even if I could, hiring someone to design and plant these gardens was simply out of the question. Just as hiring an interior designer to decorate my home was out of the question. Good, bad or indifferent; these gardens have my stamp on them.

If you have the option when establishing your gardens, take your time. In this world of instant gratification, some things are worth waiting for.

Happy Tuesday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: flowers, garden, gardening 57 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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Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

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