Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Weekend Thoughts

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The weekend so far has been nicely slow, an unhurried pace of a weekend that suits me fine.

I talked Don into making his Vegan Blueberry Pancakes yesterday morning. Need I say more?

We went to the grocery store and to our little library where a copy of The Heist by Daniel Silva was waiting for me. I had been in a long queue for this book so I was surprised and happy that it was now available. Since I had barely started The Marco Effect by Jussi Adler-Olson (which is on my Kindle) I made a U-turn and started The Heist. I also checked out two other books which I will probably talk about on Just Let Me Finish This Page. Two books written by writers about their love of reading – I love books about books, if you know what I mean.

I watered all the potted plants and The Chicken Wire Fence Garden. I read. I did a NY Times crossword puzzle (a tough one, I modestly say.) I scrubbed the bathtub. We watched Marty on TCM.

Today? More of the same. Reading, writing, a little cleaning.

Work will soon begin on Hamlet, the show I’m coaching next, but I think I’ll wait until next week.

Currently blooming all over the property:

yellow beauty

Beautiful Goldenrod. It’s right alongside some Purple Loosestrife and the combination of the yellow and purple is gorgeous. (I’m not worried about the Purple Loosestrife, it isn’t invasive here. It just blooms in the wetter parts of the property and it’s beautiful.)

I was watering plants on the porch and I saw this beauty on the Butterfly Bush.

giantswallowtail 1

Yes, it’s blurry, sorry, as the butterfly was moving its wings very quickly. The butterfly was very large in size, so I did some research. It’s the Giant Swallowtail. I had to crop this photo down from one I took from a distance. Right after I took this, I cautiously walked around the porch to the bush and got this view:

giantswallowtail 2

Stunningly beautiful. Nature is stupendously wondrous and amazing.

I don’t understand why anyone would ever capture a butterfly. They should be magical and elusive and free. I should try to take a photo and be frustrated because the butterfly moves and flits and then disappears. That’s the way it should be. Those moments, those seconds in time, where the butterfly appears and then soars into the air and over the trees, those moments make me smile.

Today is my last day on the antibiotics. Tomorrow? I can have coffee with half and half first thing in the morning. Cannot wait. And we can start hiking again this week – no more worries about the sun.

Happy Sunday.

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A Scrappy Little Garden

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At this point in the summer, it becomes increasingly obvious that things are changing. There’s a shift: more leaves on the ground, coneflowers looking past their prime, the yellowing of leaves after days and days of the hot August sun with no rain.

The sedum, always a spot of color in Autumn, is clearly gearing up for its show.

And then there’s my scappy little Chicken Wire Fence Garden. In this gardening zone, the morning glories don’t really begin to take off until mid-August. The zinnias start to bloom at the end of July and continue to bloom through August and September.

The Chicken Wire Fence Garden is cobbled together, planted in the soil in front of the rusty fence. It reminds me, more than anything around here, of a flower garden that might be found on a farm. It’s spare, almost utilitarian, but beautiful in its way.

Wed - chickenwirefencegarden

A landscape designer wouldn’t be impressed by this, that’s for sure.

I like it’s scrappiness. I like the bare bones quality of it.

It’s such fun. It makes the end of summer much more bearable. The morning glories will bloom until the first frost. The zinnias are always a surprise, each one different.

Like this one that just started blooming – a welcome splash of yellow!

Wed - yellow zinnia

But gosh, the morning glory vines are slow to grow this year.

We need rain. I water them every day, but we really need a good, long soaking.

Here is the latest bloom, which just opened this morning.

Wed - morning glory and vine

Another view:

Wed - morning glory number three

Sigh. I love my scrappy little garden.

There’s a new post up on Just Let Me Finish This Page – a book review of M. C. Beaton’s latest Agatha Raisin mystery, The Blood of an Englishman. Stop by!

And the winner of a copy of After I’m Gone by Laura Lippman is Lee. Congratulations, Lee. I’ve sent you an email.

Happy Wednesday.

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An Apple, A Movie & A Flower

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I drove to the Apple Store yesterday – the closest one is an hour away – and had a chat with a tech at the Genius Bar. We think we’ve resolved things, but I’m going to keep an eye on the laptop and if the issue arises again, it will be off to the store once more.

Fingers crossed!

It’s been coolish around here for the last two days. The high yesterday was 72 degrees. It was cloudy as well, and Don and I remarked that it felt like mid-September. I think the warmer temps will be back on Sunday.

I got the test results back the other day. I officially have Lyme. Good thing I didn’t wait for the results to start the medication!

We watched His Girl Friday again last night. There was nothing else on (PBS is doing its fundraiser which always results in programming that is, let’s face it, rather unappealing) so we checked out TCM On Demand. With some sweet talking, I managed to persuade Don to watch it again, even though we’d seen it rather recently. And he laughed and laughed.

See? I was right.

What a fabulous movie, with razor-sharp, quick-paced dialogue, people talking over each other (like real life) and so much palpable energy that you can almost feel the sparks shooting out of the television. Just over an hour and a half in length, it moves very quickly. Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant are at the top of their game, as are the great character actors in supporting roles, including Ralph Bellamy.

Did I ever tell you Don got to work with Ralph Bellamy? The did an episode of L.A. Law together. Don played his attorney and the filming lasted a week with lots of scenes in the courtroom, so Don got to sit next to Mr. Bellamy and hear stories about his pals and his years in Hollywood.

Someday, I’ll write a post about all the actors Don has worked with – you’d be amazed.

morning glory closed

The second morning glory bloomed on Thursday. By about four o’clock, it had closed.

Open or closed, the blossoms are truly lovely.

Happy Saturday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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