Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for garden

Lush Gardens, More Rain, & Books

June 20, 2019 at 10:30 am by Claudia

More rain and thunderstorms on the way for tonight and tomorrow morning. Then we’ll have two days of sun before the rain comes back – on Don’s birthday, no less. I’m trying to stay upbeat and so is Don – we work really hard at it – but man, I have NEVER seen anything like the rain we’ve had since April. Endless.

Okay. So here’s the upside. I’ve also never seen the garden so dense, the plants so tall and full. The hostas are mammoth. My daylily is constantly blooming – much longer than normal. The coneflowers are super tall. The catmint is gorgeously purple and filled with bees. The spirea is vividly pink this year. And on it goes. The lushness of everything is pretty darned amazing.

Endless record-breaking rain does have its perks.

And we did manage to have our second cup of coffee on the porch this morning. So that’s good.

I woke up way too early this morning. It happens occasionally. I’ll power through.

I mentioned in a post on Instagram that I was thinking of starting a separate account just for reading and books. Not unlike my book blog, but without the expense, the crazy commitment to reading way too many books, pressure to review, etc., that made me eventually delete it. When you’re an ‘official’ book blog with people asking you to review books all the time and you already have a blog where you post every day, it can become overwhelming and it did.

This time, I’ll just share what I’m reading, the occasional visit to an interesting bookstore, that kind of thing.

Most everyone seemed to think it was a good idea. I haven’t started it yet, but when I do, I’ll give you the information. It won’t change my primary Instagram account where I do most of my posting. It’ll just be a little space to talk about books.

What do you think?

Okay. Don is making an omelet at my request. Have to go!

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: books, flowers, garden, instagram 36 Comments

In Bloom

June 16, 2019 at 10:12 am by Claudia

Up close and personal with a gorgeous catalpa blossom. Like peonies, these blossoms aren’t around for long. Maybe a week or less. The other day, Don said that the scent is right up there with lilacs and peonies. And it is.

I’m going to try and get out there before it rains and take a photo of the tree in bloom. Wish me luck!

The clematis has been blooming like crazy – I’m sure it’s due to all the rain we’ve had.

The spirea is in full bloom, the Annabelle hydrangea flowers are getting bigger, and you can see some of the milkweed just to the right of the hydrangea.

I took these photos in the afternoon, when the sun was a bit too bright. I’d just finished mowing and I’d mowed a lot. Then Don came home and mowed the rest, which was also a lot. So, between the two of us, we did the entire property in one day! But we knew rain was coming and, if the forecasts proves true, we’re going to see rain for much of this week, so it was now or never.

We were tuckered out and fell asleep while watching a movie.

Don is at the farmer’s market today, so cross your fingers that it doesn’t rain too much. He really likes taking pictures there and will be disappointed if it’s a wash-out.

Happy Sunday.

 

Filed Under: flowers, garden, trees 16 Comments

Yarrow, Unwritten Rules & Scout

June 15, 2019 at 10:23 am by Claudia

For the second year in a row, yarrow has self-seeded in the corral and I’m happy with that. There are, I don’t know, maybe 20 different plants? Yarrow is wonderful. It’s sturdy and the blossoms last for a long time. This all began years ago when I planted yarrow in the big garden bed. It didn’t last long there for some reason. A few years later, I noticed a plant here and there on the property. And now, there is this wonderful cluster of blooms just beyond the entrance to the corral.

I think there are some unwritten rules about flowers – at least on my property. The first is that the moment peonies start to bloom, rain will fall. And it won’t be a soft rain, it will be the kind of rain that pummels the blooms to the ground. The second is this: as soon as the Catalpa trees are covered in blooms, a strong, all-day-long wind will come that sends hundreds of blossoms to the ground. Which is what happened yesterday.

Can I just say how sick I am of wind? It seems like every time we get a day of rain, a day of heavy winds will follow. Like friggin’ clockwork. We are so over them. Yesterday, both Don and I were left feeling edgy and unsettled by the winds, which were relentless.

Thank goodness, today is calm. Because we have to mow and that was impossible yesterday.

Those of you who follow me on Instagram will have seen this, but I know some of you aren’t on IG. A longtime reader of the blog, Grace, messaged me the other day to ask if she could post a drawing of Scout. Grace is a wonderful artist and the drawing was inspired by a picture I took of Scout galloping down the little hill outside the corral. She loved to do that and at the end of the gallop she would jump up and over the threshold of the kitchen door – just like a show horse. I can’t tell you how much we loved seeing her do that, especially as she got older and had trouble walking. Somehow, in that moment, she was young again.

I was so moved by the drawing. Grace perfectly captures an older, yet still feisty, Scout.

Isn’t it beautiful? Grace is on Instagram as @alightinglightly and I encourage you to look at her other creations. She is an animal lover like so many of us and her drawings are exquisite.

(That darned watermark! I hope it doesn’t look like I was the artist! It just happens automatically with my photo editing software.)

Thank you, dear Grace. Don and I just love this. That’s our girl!

Happy Saturday.

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

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