Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for garden

Signs of Spring

April 4, 2015 at 9:31 am by Claudia

4-4 redsox&eggs

An iPhone/Instagrammy photo that captures this beginning of April: fabric Easter eggs and the Red Sox. Opening Day of the baseball season is tomorrow. The Red Sox are looking good this year. We’ve already watched a few exhibition games during Spring Training. Oh baseball, I love you. Welcome back!

I walked out to the leaf covered big garden bed the other day and uncovered a small area just to assure myself that something is happening out there:

4-4 sedum

I knew I could count on the sedum – always the first to show new growth. I keep the leaves on the garden beds until there’s no danger of below freezing temperatures. I’m hoping that will be in the next week. We have almost two acres here and there are woods and lots of trees and dead leaves and fallen branches and several garden beds to clean up. Brambles have to be cut back – ouch.

All the stones (called Item 4, for some reason) from our driveway that the snow blower propelled onto the grass need to be put back where they belong. That, by the way, is one of the most painstaking and irritating jobs there is in early spring. Last year, Don and I sat out by the driveway with pails by our sides, gathering up all the rocks that weren’t where they were supposed to be. And that was before we had our own snowblower that had to be used several times this winter. This year, there are even more rocks on the lawn, rocks on the patio, rocks in the garden. I used to rake them up, and I still do as much of that as I can, but last year I enlisted Mr. Sparks in the whole thing and I’m going to do that again this year.

Someday, we want to pave the driveway. Most people around here, however, have the same kind of driveway we do – part of country living, I guess.

It’s a quiet weekend around here. We have no big plans. We watched The Wizard of Oz  last night on TCM. Glorious. And, after decades of watching it, I still worry when I don’t see Toto in a shot. Where is he? Is he okay? Did he run off with Dorothy unaware that he’s missing? Then, he’ll suddenly come into the shot from offstage and I relax. Don understands, bless him. He knows I worry about that sort of thing.

What are your plans for today?

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: baseball, garden, movies, red sox 39 Comments

To Egg Cup or Not to Egg Cup

March 14, 2015 at 9:46 am by Claudia

3-14 studio

I’m never quite sure when Easter is, but I made sure to check the calendar yesterday and it’s not all that far off, is it?

Which brings me to egg cups, specifically, my collection of egg cups. For the past few years, I’ve highlighted the collection right around Easter. Many of you may be very familiar with it by now, which brings me to my question of the day. Should I share them again this year? Or is it a case of ‘been there, done that?’

I have a lot of them and I love them, but don’t let that influence you!

Happy Pi day on this March 14th! Coincidentally, we happen to have some apple pie in the house. So it stands to reason that said pie should be consumed today, don’t you think? We will sacrifice for Pi day.

It’s a rainy day here in the Hudson Valley. Go ahead rain, melt the snow! We have quite a bit of snow still on the ground but it’s definitely melting. We watch as the chairs on the funky patio start to show more of themselves. Oh, there’s the seat! I see some legs! Look, I see one of the pavers beneath the chair!

These are the kind of things that make us happy. The birdbath thawed. I hear the constant drip of running water from the gutters as the ice melts. There are even patches of grass emerging. It will take a while, as we had over three feet of snow on the ground, but it’s definitely happening.

The other day we heard birds singing.

Be still my heart.

I don’t kid myself about when I can get outside and do some garden clean up. That will be a few weeks away, at the very least. But it’s coming. It’s coming!

Don’t forget to answer my question of the day in the comment section.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

 

Filed Under: egg cups, garden 57 Comments

Is There a Garden Somewhere Under All That Snow?

March 7, 2015 at 9:36 am by Claudia

3-7 snow

The beginnings of the Back Forty, taken from the kitchen window. Since the snow is three feet deep, I haven’t explored that area of the property and, except for the tracks of deer, it looks pristine. What I couldn’t capture in this photo was the sparkle and glitter of the snow, which was quite beautiful.

We’re supposed to see temperatures in the forties at the beginning of the week. It will seem so balmy that we might go a bit crazy. Will we been donning shorts while trying to catch some rays? We won’t know what to do with ourselves.

exuberant garden

I just thought I’d take a moment to remind myself of what will be. At some point in the future.

Sometimes it’s necessary. Or one might be tempted to believe he or she is living in Antarctica.

3-7 Scootala

I’m reading a lot, doing the usual chores around the house, listening to music, and taking pictures of Scout, which she finds annoying. She turns her head. But I am persistent. In these moments, she would like me to please go away. Silly Scout. Don’t you know your mother loves nothing more that to take pictures of you?

What are you up to today? Are you having adventures? The snowbound and stir-crazy author of this blog would like to know.

I’m giving away a copy of a book I reviewed yesterday. You only have today or tomorrow to leave a comment in order to be entered, so I’d suggest you get on it! If you snooze, you lose.

Happy Saturday.

ClaudiaSignature140X93

Filed Under: flowers, garden, Scout, snow 52 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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The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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