Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for groundhogs

Day Three Hundred Ninety-Four

April 11, 2021 at 10:05 am by Claudia

So far this morning: Four deer were munching on the grass right outside the kitchen window, the wren has been singing and working diligently on the nest since at least 6 am, two robins were fighting, four cardinals – two male, two female – were in the big garden bed, Canada geese flew overhead, I saw (and heard) two mourning doves, and we had our first groundhog sighting.

I knew we had one living under the shed, as all the entrances and exits were free of leaves. He’d been doing some spring cleaning. Don’t know whether this is the same one that was living here last year or a new guy/girl, so we have no name yet. Last year’s was named Shifty, if you remember. We’ll watch and observe.

A little darker this morning as we’re going to have rain the rest of the day and tomorrow. It hasn’t started yet. He’s still nest-building – I just saw him through the den window.

The little tree next to the catalpa is in bud. I just noticed that this morning.

Better than any television show or movie, this is. My heart is full. I told Don that I realize that I was unconsciously ‘holding’ myself during the winter months and that I feel more open now. He said, sure, you were contracted and now you’re expansive. Exactly. No more unconscious contracting, now I’m consciously expanding. I love living here. It’s like we’re living on our own little nature preserve. The maples are starting to get small buds, as are the other trees. The last to leaf out will be the catalpa.

Grateful on this Sunday morning.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: bird nest, birds, groundhogs, trees 20 Comments

Day One Hundred Thirty-Six

July 27, 2020 at 10:11 am by Claudia

Dear Shanna, whose portraits of our dogs hang on a wall in our living room, was kind enough to paint our groundhog! We waited to open it because we usually quarantine mail for a few days and then, of course, Don was ill. But we opened it the other day and it’s gorgeous!

Doesn’t it perfectly capture him/her?

In the interest of transparency, we are pretty sure this little one is not  Henry. In the beginning, we thought it was our boy, but then, as he began to come closer to the house to munch on the grass, we realized this was not Henry. The facial features are not the same; he’s not as gray, nor is he as big as Henry was.

In the beginning, he was getting into mischief. I caught him on the front porch and in the garden. (Henry would never do that.) But once he realized those activities were a no-no, he has behaved quite well indeed.

I don’t know if our Henry is around, but this guy is living under the shed, so I think we must come to the grips with the fact that he’s probably left us.

We love you Henry.

We haven’t named this guy yet, but when he was up to no good, Don called him “Shifty.” He now thinks that’s not fair to this little guy, so we’re waiting until we find the right name for him.

In other news, Barbara Vajnar, the creator of incredible miniatures under the name Bubba’s Country Cupboards, (including this one that I purchased two years ago) is retiring.

She is selling off the inventory she has left. Oh my. I will miss seeing her booth at the show – it was always my favorite. I was on eBay yesterday looking at miniatures and I saw one of her cupboards up for auction. When I clicked on it, I realized that Barbara herself was listing it and when I read further, I saw that she was retiring. She had a few pieces that were about to end and I watched in real time as one cupboard, which had a high bid of $191.00 about one minute before the auction closed, went from that price to about $450.00 at the end of the bidding. Amazing. These are one-of-a-kind, of course, and the workmanship is so incredible and detailed and impeccably done, that everyone wants to grab one of her creations while they can. I briefly considered bidding on that piece because I’d love to have another in my collection, but I didn’t. I would have been knocked out of the action within a second!

You all know that my mustard colored cupboard is one of my favorite pieces ever. Everything about it – the hardware, the cut-out design on the sides, the drawers and doors that open and close, the color, the impeccable detail – is stunning.  I’m so glad I caved and purchased this piece when I could! Thank you, Barbara. You will be missed.

And finally, I did another video tour on Instagram. This time, we are visiting the Folk Art Dollhouse. I just posted it this morning (I have to do these when Don is out on a walk.) I hope you enjoy it!

It’s going to be incredibly hot here today. I’ve already been out to water and we took a moment to sit on the glider while it was still comfortable out there. Now, we’re in for the day.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: dollhouse, groundhogs, instagram, miniatures 20 Comments

Day Ninety-Nine

June 20, 2020 at 9:35 am by Claudia

While Don was on his walk this morning, I noticed a groundhog resting on the ramp to the shed. Assuming it was the new occupant, I grabbed my telephoto lens and took some photos from inside the kitchen door. When Don came back, I showed them to him.

It’s Henry.

Oh my heavens, our boy is still with us! There definitely is a younger groundhog hanging around as well. But this guy sat on the ramp for at least 20 minutes. And then he walked down the ramp to the grass to grab a bite to eat. And then he got scared by something and disappeared under the shed. Classic Henry.

I can’t tell you how happy this makes us – especially in the midst of all the corrupt, despicable and vile things going on at the moment. That our guy is still here is a big old shot of joy.

Bless his heart. Our resident gentleman is surveying his estate.

What a nice present this was – and it’s all in the timing, because I’m normally sitting in my chair at the time I saw him, but for some reason I was in the kitchen.

I had a social distancing dream this morning wherein NO ONE was social distancing and they were all getting way too close to me.

Also, Don did a big more digging yesterday and we added some more rocks.

Just a couple to add to the other side of the path and we’re done.

I dug out this large heart-shaped rock the other day.

Isn’t it lovely?

My allergies are out of control, so I’ll lay somewhat low today, except for watering all the seedlings and plants. It’s going to be another hot and humid day.

I’ve started another puzzle, but the edges are all either dark brown or black and it’s really hard to figure out what goes where! I’ll get there.

I finished the Simenon I was reading and then I actually grabbed a book from my TBR pile – Moriarty  by Anthony Horowitz – and I’ve started that.

But back to what is really important: Henry is still with us!

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: groundhogs, Henry 53 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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