Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Painting #8

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This isn’t the best photo, but here’s the latest in my Pottery Portraits series. This is a basket vase in the Clematis pattern. I am unable to use Lightroom, my photo editor, because it’s on my laptop. I would have sharpened the photo and resized it, etc., etc., by my hands are tied. So this is what you get. I’m happy with this one – the handles were my biggest challenge. In fact, I had started a portrait of it a while back but the handles threw me, so I moved on to another vase. Glad I tried it again.

I got a little daring with the background color, but I like it. Don really  likes it.

I miss my laptop.

I did a lot of weed pulling yesterday and that was satisfying. Today will be….wait for it…sunny. All day. So we’re going to mow the front lawn, and we’ll time the mowing of the area outside of the kitchen window (where the nest is) when mama is absent from the nest. Yes, she’s still doing it on her own. And yes, I know that normally, both parents take turns feeding the babies. I’ve watched robins and their broods many times – one time they were right outside my window on the balcony of a place I was staying in while working in Wisconsin. I got to watch the entire cycle. That’s how I know papa is absent. She is doing it all.  I worry for her as she must be exhausted and there are probably at least 7 or 8 more days of this until they fledge and even then, she’ll be the only one helping them while they’re on the ground. I’ve called her my hero before and that’s even more true now. I don’t know what happened to papa, I don’t even like to think what happened to papa. If they are the same pair that had babies in the nest by the shed, he was a diligent, hard-working dad. It’s sad.

I stood in the bathroom, camera in hand, for a long while, waiting for mama to feed the babies. It’s hard to get a clear picture when there are black walnut leaves all around the nest, but here you can see her feeding one of the babies. I know there are at least two babies, but I think there are three.

We’ll probably take a short break from Wallander (last night’s episode was incredibly powerful) to watch the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympics. I always enjoy them. I’m not sure actually going through with them was a good idea, however. And I keep reading of decisions made by the Tokyo contingent as well as the IOC that I find quite troubling. But watching a contest between superb athletes is always exciting, so here we go.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

Birds, Oils, & Memories

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A view from the kitchen window. If they haven’t hatched yet, I expect babies to emerge pretty darned soon. Thankfully, the rain has stopped. I’m happy not only for us and our water-logged property and for those who live in the Hudson Valley who have experienced flooding, but also for mama robin. She could use a break.

Finally, a day without a flash flood, flood, severe thunderstorm, or heat advisory warning – at several points we had all of those warnings at the same time.

Working on the next painting. I considered this basket vase a while back but concluded that the handle was a bit too complicated for me. I’m still tweaking everything, of course, and have lots of detail to add.

This morning, while making our second cup of coffee, I saw this card tacked to our bulletin board:

I saved it because it holds such happy memories.

Four years ago, after a somewhat late start, we started on our trip home from California  –  in our CR-V – where Don had been performing Escape to Margaritaville  in La Jolla. That first leg on our journey was magical. We headed north through Orange County, then Los Angeles County, saw Stella for the first time, stopped in Santa Monica and swam in the ocean in the very late afternoon, and headed up the Pacific Coast Highway. We had no idea where we would stop for the night, but we knew we were very, very hungry.

As we drove through Malibu, our search for a good place to stop and have some dinner grew more and more frustrating. We finally found a little place called Gravina, an Italian restaurant. We had no idea whether it would be good or bad, but we were desperate. It turned out to be one of the best meals we’ve ever had. It was late, there weren’t that many people there, it was intimate and lovely and way more expensive than we’d planned. But we went for it and, oh my goodness, it’s such a strong memory for us. I’m thinking of all of these things as we prepare to say goodbye to the CR-V – hopefully, at some point this week. I’ll write a separate post about that car, a car that took us eastward on a new journey in our life.

I’ll miss her. When I stop and write even a little about her, I start to cry. I’m going to take some pictures of her today.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

 

The Line-Up

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Today’s version of the line-up.

Gloomy skies, a bit of rain this morning and the possibility of thunderstorms this afternoon. Tomorrow might actually be a dry day. And Friday, as well. I won’t know what to do with myself!

There’s not much to report. I was feeling a bit under the weather yesterday because of the ongoing rain (allergies to mold and mildew) but these things usually last for one day. I’m feeling better today. But, because I was feeling not so hot, I didn’t do much, except vacuum, water plants, and make the bed.

I think I might start another painting today. Don is, as I write this, trying to figure out how to use the portable background screen that we’ll use for his self-tape auditions. (It’s huge! Much bigger than I imagined.) We bought it from B&H in Manhattan, our favorite source for cameras, etc. Trying to find any spare space in this cottage to do this kind of thing is challenging, but the screen itself becomes a temporary background wall and we need that. But it’s more STUFF – and that, we don’t need. Ah, well.

We were talking about Bastille Day while we were having coffee this morning and, in reading about it on Wikipedia, we saw this painting by Monet:

Rue Montorgueil, Paris, Festival of 30 June 1878 – his depiction of the first celebration of the French Republic. This celebration eventually led to an annual celebration on July 14.

But look at this painting! My heavens, Monet was brilliant. With slashes of paint, he has recreated the energy, the crowds, the flags blowing in the wind…it’s mind-boggling. The more I study it, the more I am amazed. I love everything about this painting. I could study it for hours.

Studying paintings is something I’ve always loved to do but now that I am making my stab at painting in oils, I look at them differently.

And boy oh boy, am I humbled.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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