Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Poppy Study

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What can I say?

The Oriental Poppy is blooming.

From this:

oriental poppy bud

To this:

poppy 1

poppy 3

poppy 4

poppy 2

poppy 5

This plant has been in the garden for several years. For the past three years or so, the spring bloom has been spectacular. These flowers are short lived; they emerge in all their exotic beauty, with paper thin petals, and leave within a day or two.

Think you can’t use orange and purple together? Mother Nature begs to differ.

Simply stunning. Made for a painter to immortalize. Or for me to immortalize through the lens of my camera.

I love taking photographs of flowers. This time of year, when every day holds a new discovery, a new bloom? Heaven. I spend hours walking around the gardens, looking through my lens, trying new angles, new views, seeing the world through fresh eyes. This blog, this act of blogging, has opened up a whole new world to me. Yes, I loved taking pictures before I started blogging, but only with a small point-and-shoot. And pre-digital? I had to remember to take the film in to be developed. I wasn’t always successful on that front. Once I started blogging, which is such a visual medium, I started to observe the world around me with renewed and inspired eyes. I got a DSLR, which completely changed everything. Looking through a camera lens expands my horizons in the best possible way.

Speaking of photography, my other blog, which is called Through a Lens Daily, was started by me a few years back. My intention was to capture a single image every day and hone my photography skills and I did just that for a while. But I’ve been hit or miss the last year or so. I’m happy to say I’ve begun posting there again. The link is in my sidebar if you’re interested in stopping by. Just one image (more or less) every day. I also moved my blogroll over to Through a Lens Daily. It used to be in the navigation bar of MHC, but the plugin that I needed to use for that has been acting up. I keep up with other blogs in a variety of ways, one of which is my blogroll. So if you’ve ever used my blogroll to find new blogs, just hop on over to Through a Lens Daily. I do believe that it reflects my eclectic taste in blogs – there’s a lot of variety there.

Speaking of interesting blogs, if you dream of going to Paris as I do, you will love Paris in Four Months. Written by a Swedish photographer who moved to Paris for four months in 2012 and ended up staying, (and who can blame her?) it’s full of gorgeous images of that beautiful city.

I read her posts and I dream of going to Paris. With my husband, of course.

We will. Someday.

Today would have been my parents’ 68th wedding anniversary. Happy Anniversary Dad and Mom.

Happy Sunday.

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Hello, Saturday

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How are you this fine Saturday morning? Other than my internet connection being sluggish (have to call the cable company) and returning a big old bug to his proper place outdoors, the morning has been fairly quiet. The sun is shining, the garden is thriving, my coffee tastes really good, and though I have more than a few worries at the moment, morning always brings the promise of a new day and that, my friends, is a little miracle.

bye bye lilacs

So long lilacs. You were especially beautiful this year.

clematis unfurling

Hello, Clematis. You’re awfully exotic looking.

peony with ants

Soon. Maybe in about 3 or 4 days? Which would take us to the first week of June. Like clockwork.

quince fruit

Remember the Weigela turned Flowering Quince?

Yep. That’s fruit. I guess that once the bush bloomed in the Spring every year, I didn’t really take the time to look at it closely again. This year I did, and darn it all if there isn’t fruit developing. Let’s see, I not only thought it was a Weigela, I insisted it was because there were no thorns or fruit.

This year I found thorns.

I found fruit.

I stand corrected.

rose bud and bug

The rose bushes are developing buds. Oh happy day!

For those of you who might have missed yesterday’s post, I’m giving away two passes to the Country Living Fair in Rhinebeck. Just scroll down for all the information. Or click here. I want to clarify that there will be two winners, who will get one pass each. (I like to spread the love around.)

My friend Heidi, whose shop Hi Ho Home Market closed this year (sob), will have a booth there. She is also giving a presentation!

And, my dear blogging friend Elyse is also presenting on Saturday. She’ll be sharing some crafts from her new book, Seaside Tinkered Treasures.

To read about both Heidi and Elyse, visit this link. Elyse is #2, Heidi is #8.

And don’t forget the other giveaway that’s going on here at MHC. Visit my post, Gardening with Hydrangeas from the Endless Summer® Collection for a chance to win a $100 Visa Gift Card.

Happy Saturday.

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Yet Still I Post

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hiking

It seems like everyone is on a long weekend hiatus…yet still I post. What can I say? The daily ritual of writing a post has become as necessary as eating and drinking. I like the discipline of it. It forces me to focus and, in the midst of whatever challenges are going on in my life, appreciate what I have.

Yesterday, we managed to squeeze in a hike between rainstorms. We’ve had a lot of rain in the past 4 days and I’m over it. More weeds have sprung up everywhere. The grass needs mowing. Everything is soggy.

But the hike? We managed 4 miles yesterday and for some reason, it kicked my butt! My foot developed a cramp during the hike, my allergies were not being helpful, and when I got home, I just wanted to sleep. Today I woke up before 5:30 am. So I’m still tired!

stonesteps

Remember the stone steps that Don and I had to climb to get to the trail? Visualize irregular steps going up the side of a mountain, zig-zagging every which way, sometimes seemingly hanging over a sheer drop into nothingness. I had Don take this picture yesterday of the beginning of the path going back down the mountain. Honestly, sometimes you can’t figure out which stones are actual steps and which ones are just stones. When we were chatting with a park ranger about them later that day, he told us, “Those steps are used mostly by rock climbers.”

Oh, that explains it. A rock climber I am not.

yellow blooms

From the garden.

white flowers under hosta

I’m going to do some weeding and some mowing today. We’re watching The Normal Heart tonight on HBO. Based on the play by Larry Kramer, it focuses on the HIV/AIDS crisis in NYC during the early years of the eighties. I cannot begin to tell you how many friends I lost to AIDS during the eighties and nineties – brilliant, talented, wonderful people who died much too young.

One of my favorite actors, Mark Ruffalo, is in the cast, as well as my sweet Jim Parsons. It will be powerful, of that I am sure.

Reminder: Tomorrow is the May edition of the Christmas Critter Felt Along, so be sure to drop by and link up with your creations.

Happy Sunday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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