Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Morning, Flowers, Henry & Endeavor

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Morning at the cottage. The only ‘staging’ involved was pulling the pile of my husband’s clean underwear out of the shot.

I’m sure you appreciate that. And you’re welcome.

I have several succulents on the kitchen table. Succulents and I have to learn how to work together for the good of all. I think I overwatered one of mine – even though I was being pretty careful on that front – and it’s not doing well. The others are okay. Perhaps it’s time to buy a book about succulents and learn more about them?

7-13 orchiddaylily

These daylilies are growing in the garden bed on the far side of the cottage. They grow big and tall and have the most beautiful pink/lavender petals with a dash of bright yellow in the middle. I had to hold this flower to get the shot because, for some reason, the flowers are facing away from the sun. Go figure.

7-13 browneyedsusan

I love the way brown-eyed susans look before they bloom. The petals look as if they are covering up the center, almost as if they’re embarrassed to be seen. I have a lot of these now as they’ve self-seeded in another part of the big garden bed.

7-13 flowers in wire

I bought a bag of mulch yesterday and mulched the beds in the Memorial Garden. I watched the bunnies dine. I tried to determine if there are two Henrys…I think there are. A seemingly smaller Henry was dining right in front of our living room window the other day. And then I saw another Henry later in the day, dining near the shed. So I’m not sure if it’s the change in perspective that makes that Henry look bigger. Or if there are indeed two Henrys. Don isn’t sure, either. There were no babies this year as far as I can tell. We would have seen them scampering about near the shed.

My next door neighbor tells me she has groundhogs living under her shed, as well.

Then, late in the day, we sat on the porch and rocked on the glider.

Do any of you watch Endeavor  on PBS? Each season has only four episodes and Sunday’s was a cliffhanger! Now we have to wait another year to see what happens. Don tells me they are currently filming the next and final season. And the final season of Inspector Lewis starts in a week or so.

Sob.

Happy Wednesday.

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Buggy

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6-30 hydrangea

There’s a sea of Annabelle hydrangea blossoms beyond what you see in this picture. Fat, gorgeous flowers. I’ll try to get my act together and get a closeup in the next couple of days.

The glider is just in front of this railing. I love sitting there, hydrangeas at my back, roses blooming (that is, the ones that aren’t being attacked by Japanese Beetles…yes, they’re back) colorful impatiens on benches, on the vintage ladder, on the picnic table.

I also found some mealy bugs attacking my coneflowers in the side garden. I’m ticked off. I’ve been doing some research and plan to buy something organic and safe today (I don’t use pesticides) but if you have any advice, I’d surely welcome it!

6-30 lavender

We went on a trail walk yesterday. Sometimes, when you’re in the midst of wrestling with decisions, weighing this, weighing that, and you feel completely muddled and talked out – a trail walk is just the thing to clear your head. It worked. And it was lovely, to boot.

We’ve been watching the Olympic Trials for swimming every evening this week. Such dedication, such talent, such strength and persistence! Meredith knows one of the qualifiers because of my nephew’s many years as a competitive swimmer. It’s heartbreaking, though, to see those who just miss out on going to the Olympics, sometimes by hundredths of a second. All that training, all that work – and then you have to wait another four years. I want to jump inside the television screen and hug them.

6-30 hollyhocks

They’re going nuts, these hollyhocks! It seems to me that there were two stems last year and this year there are eight. Four times the flowers. Hollyhocks are biennials, I’ve learned. So does that mean that these two summers with them are all I’m going to get? I hope not.

Some weed whacking on the agenda for today – maybe some mowing, but it’s been so dry here that the grass hasn’t grown all that much and we’re thinking we should wait a few days.

Happy Thursday.

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Around the Garden And A Little Gift

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What’s up in the gardens on this first day of summer?

6-20 beebalm

The bee balm will be in bloom very soon. I can’t wait for those splashes of vivid red in the big garden bed.

6-20 beeonleaf

Bees are everywhere. This one was working very hard at something  on the end of that leaf. I was fascinated but I could never quite figure it out.

6-20 atlastrose

Roses keep blooming.

6-20 pinkspirea

The pink spirea is fully in bloom. Clouds of pink everywhere.

6-20 webonclematis

Post petals, this is what remains of the clematis bloom – along with a bug and a gossamer web.

6-20 damesrocketbug

Dame’s Rocket with little bug.

6-20 rosebuds

New Dawn Rose buds.

6-20 spiderweb

A spider web, stretching from boxwood to boxwood.

The camera becomes my third eye and I’m always surprised and delighted by what it discovers. It truly is my favorite time of year, despite being sleep deprived.

We’re on the countdown, my friends: T minus 4 days and counting. A big birthday on Friday for Don and Little Z. Oh that little boy, we love him so much. We talk to him most every evening, conversations where word games are played, giggles erupt, and a besotted aunt and uncle sigh with happiness. He’s going to be five years old, you know. Don is going to be, ahem, sixty-five.

This was waiting for Don on Father’s Day, along with a card from Winston, Riley and Scout.

6-20 scoutieinframe

I matted and framed Shanna’s sketch of Scout. Don was very pleased. Shanna managed to capture the twinkle in Scout’s eye, that look that said, “I’m game for anything!” If I had to describe Scout with just one word, it would be JOY. In caps.

We miss my dad. We miss Don’s dad. And we miss my brother, dad to three wonderful children – now adults – and the seven grandchildren he never got to know. Father’s Day is bittersweet, indeed.

Anastasia  closed its run in Hartford yesterday. Next year: Broadway. I know at least two of the readers of this blog saw it and loved it, which makes me very happy.

Happy Monday.

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Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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