Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for garden

Simply Beautiful

May 28, 2019 at 9:39 am by Claudia

Yesterday was, to put it simply, the most beautiful Memorial Day I can remember. The skies were brilliantly sunny, the temps were in the mid-seventies with no humidity, and the gentlest of breezes was accompanied by the faint sounds of the wind chimes.

It was so, so lovely.

We sat out on the porch much of the day, trying our best to be in the present moment, relaxing together, reading, Don occasionally playing his guitar. We felt tremendous gratitude for our house (a seemingly impossible goal for many, many years,) our gardens, our porch, our relationship and marriage, for the bird song which was unceasing all day long – for everything.

And we blessed those who were lost to the unspeakable tragedy of war.

We took a walk on the rail trail later in the day.

I suppose I need not say that we stop and stare at our new sofa countless times each day. Because we do. More gratitude.

Don had expected to spend the afternoon taking portraits, just as he did on Sunday. But at the last minute, he decided he needed to rest. We’ve been awfully busy this past week and, on top of that, Don has spent several hours in the sun over the course of a few days, camped out with his table display, hoping to get some customers. And he has. But the hours spent waiting are tedious and he was just plain exhausted yesterday. I’m glad he took the day off.

I hope you had a lovely day yesterday.

From the Memorial Garden, this teeny tiny little bee on a geranium. These flowers are about an inch wide, so you can imagine how tiny the bee was. I cropped the original photo.

It’s my favorite time of the year. Speaking of that, I’ve noticed the peony buds are getting larger, which means they’ll bloom – like clockwork, it never fails – during the first week of June.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: Don, flowers, garden, porch 23 Comments

The Perfect Green

May 25, 2019 at 9:35 am by Claudia

Thanks for all your supportive comments about the new sofa! The cushions need to be broken in and that will take a while. I’d rather have to break them in than have something with not enough support from the get go. We sit up much higher than on the old sofa – much better for our backs and knees. We don’t have to try and haul ourselves up from the sofa.

It’s really beautiful and we’re thrilled with it. The color is exactly what I wanted, but we saw so many slightly different variations of it on the computer screen that we weren’t sure just what we’d get. I thought it might be a bit brighter, which I would have been fine with, but secretly, this is the color I wanted. This soft spring green; almost the exact shade of the base of the lamp that sits on the table, the same as the softer green found in McCoy Pottery, and the same as the green found on the glass lamp shade on the floor lamp. It is perfect.

It was a spectacular day yesterday – sunny, low seventies, a gentle breeze. We sat out on the porch a lot. Bird song, bunnies, green grass – except for a couple more plants to pot, everything is where I want to be and that realization brought a lot of satisfaction. All of the work is worth it, because we now get to bask in the beauty of our property for the next 3 or 4 months.

The very last lilacs – these little blooms. The scent was a strong as ever, but I think that they’ll be gone in a day or two.

Wild honeysuckle up in the back forty.

Lamium – yellow archangel – in the big garden bed. Full of yellow flowers and the bees love it.

Our bridal veil spirea.

A little bunny munching on grass right by the funky patio.

I spent much of the day cleaning yesterday. You know how it is, you bring in something new and suddenly you are vacuuming, swiffering, straightening up and dusting.

Today, I’m going to run an errand or two and then enjoy my gardens.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: bunnies, flowers, garden, sofa 18 Comments

Out With the Old, In With the New

May 23, 2019 at 9:35 am by Claudia

Sorry I didn’t respond to comments yesterday, but we were working outside most of the day, and when we weren’t working outside we were figuring out the logistics of the new sofa arrival/old loveseat removal. It was a day of a lot of talking and a lot of physical labor. A good day, but we were tuckered out by dinnertime.

The Star of Bethlehem’s blossoms only appear after the leaves have withered. I tend to forget about that, so I am surprised and delighted when I see them.

As to the old sofa: it’s in pretty bad shape. It’s usable, but I don’t know for how long. It’s over 30 years old and it wasn’t all that well made to begin with.

Placing anything out there with a free sign only works for us if the piece is on the small side. We don’t have a curb. We don’t have a strip of grass between the street and the sidewalk. We live in the country, but on a very busy county road. And between the street and our property is a deep culvert. You can see why leaving anything out there for any length of time is problematic. It would have to be on the driveway. And then we wouldn’t be able to get in and out.

Don spoke to the guy who runs our recycling transfer station, aka The Dump. He knows a guy who has very little money and needs some basic pieces to furnish an apartment. He might give it to him. That would work out perfectly. At any rate, it’s too big to fit in our CR-V, so Don’s friend is coming Saturday in his pickup truck and they’ll take it to the transfer station.

Speaking of ‘free’ signs, Don was driving down a local road yesterday and saw both this and a  red wagon. He brought them home. This rooster frieze is made out of Plaster of Paris, so I don’t know how long it will last out there in the elements, but I like it. The red wagon will eventually be planted with flowers.

I have to say: Don’s pretty darned cool.

I have to get going. I’m taking the car in for an oil change – something I had to delay when my back was troubling me. We’re in for a stormy day, as well.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: Don, garden 20 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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