Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

  • About MHC
    • Disclosure
  • Dollhouses/Minis
    • Hummingbird Cottage
    • The Studio (Formerly TSP)
    • Dove Cottage
    • The Lake House
    • The Folk Art Dollhouse
    • The Modern Dollhouse
    • Dollhouse Source List, Information and Tutorials
  • On the Road
  • Collecting
    • Roseville Pottery
    • McCoy Pottery
    • Egg Cups
    • Bakelite
  • Press
  • Privacy Policy
You are here: Home / Archives for rain

Some Sun on a Monday

May 6, 2019 at 10:12 am by Claudia

We have a partly cloudy day today, but there have been some stretches of sunny. Hurrah! In fact, I’m going to post rather quickly so I can go outside and get some work done in the sunshine. As we have learned around here this particular spring, sunshine is fleeting. And true to that, tomorrow will bring thunderstorms. With sun such a rarity, I’m vowing to lap it up whenever I can. I’m also hoping there will be another dry day this week because we need to mow the back forty.

I took a quick picture of one of the vintage pots. I can’t get very close because the ground in the secret garden is so waterlogged that you can hardly walk back there. The secret garden is at the back of the house, at the foot of a hill. That makes it lush, but it also makes it very wet, especially this year.

Anyway, here is one of the pots:

Just the beginning. As you know from last year, the coleus and the vines will grow and grow. These vintage pots are made of cement and, let me tell you, hauling them back and forth to the porch is tiring. In better weather I would have done all of the potting back in the secret garden, but it was too wet back there.

Today, some weeding and mulching – hopefully, the last of it – and whatever else seems indicated. I’ll try to take some more pictures today.

We watched Ninotchka last night. Don had never seen it. The combination of Ernst Lubitsch (director of my beloved Shop Around the Corner ), Garbo, and Melvyn Douglas is perfect. Also, one of my favorite character actors, Felix Bressart, appears.

That’s all. Our days are low-key nowadays. With Darko leaving Hartford Stage in June, Anastasia closing, and of course, the closing of Margaritaville last year, work has been a rare commodity. We’d both like to be working; it keeps us sharp, is satisfying, and we need the money. But that’s the way it is right now. Hopefully, there’s something exciting on the horizon for both of us.

Happy Birthday to my dear brother David, who died in 1991. I miss him.

Happy Monday.

 

Filed Under: flowers, garden, movies, rain 31 Comments

Friday, No Blue Skies in Sight

May 3, 2019 at 10:20 am by Claudia

Okay. I’m going to moan and grown for a second. Another day of gray skies, colder than usual temperatures, and rain. That seems to be our Spring. The sunny days have been the rare exception and it’s getting both Don and me down. We keep busy, but come on! Enough already!

Plus, the weather forecast is all over the map. I’ve never seen it change as much – and, on a dime – as it has lately. Yesterday, I mulched the memorial garden bed. I was about to mulch another garden bed when I checked the weather app. Rain was due at 3 pm. The front lawn was really overdue for a mowing, as we’ve had so much rain. Don wasn’t home. So I hauled out the mower – I’m still not in full mowing mode muscle-wise – and I mowed the front lawn. If I hadn’t, the grass would have been impossible to cut. I made an ‘executive decision’ because I knew Don would want to be in on the mowing, but I felt I had to do my best to outrun the rain.

I finished, put everything away, came in the house and took a shower, looked at the weather app again and, in the 90 minutes since I had made the decision to mow, the forecast had changed from a lot of rain at 3 pm to some ‘drizzle’ in the evening. What the heck? Last night, it looked like there would be two sunny days next week – Tuesday and Wednesday. Today’s change in the forecast? Rain on Tuesday and Wednesday. And every other day of the week.

Screaming.

Okay. I’ve gone on too long. I know many of you are going through the same thing. As Don said, “We went through such a long winter, don’t we deserve some sun?” He really wants to take photographs, but so far, there has only been one weekend – 3 weeks ago – that wasn’t rainy.

Thanks for your patience. I won’t rant anymore.

Flowering quince. There aren’t as many blooms as last year (lack of sun?) Or did I miss them? They’re also somewhat buried in the bush making picture taking difficult.

I took this late yesterday afternoon as Don and I were inhaling the scent of the lilacs. I was entranced by the different shades on the blossoms.

More lilac beauty.

Even with all the gray skies, there is so much growth in the garden beds. There are changes every day and I’m, as always, fascinated by them. Watching green things grow is better than watching a movie. And that’s saying something!

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: flowers, garden, rain 34 Comments

Sunsets and Movie Watching

January 25, 2019 at 7:41 am by Claudia

It rained like crazy yesterday. Flood warnings were up. You can’t have this much snow and ice on the ground and not have a problem when there is excessive rain. Since the culverts down by the road are overloaded with snow/ice, the water was draining onto the road and there was lots of it. Crazy.

But at the end of the day, gasps were coming from within the cottage when Don and I saw this:

One of the most spectacular sunsets I’ve ever seen.

Don has an audition today and I’m going into the city with him because my ring is already repaired and ready for pickup. It won’t be an exciting trip – Don will rush downtown for his audition, I’ll pick the ring up and dawdle in Midtown, then we’ll meet up and head home. But, better to go in today when the winter weather isn’t an issue.

We didn’t get to both movies last night, but we did watch Mary Poppins Returns, which is absolutely delightful and magical and wondrous and everything a movie like this should be. We were enchanted by it! I love Emily Blunt and, of course, what’s not to love about Lin-Manuel Miranda? The entire cast was pitch perfect, including a couple of wonderful cameo performances at the end of the movie which made us smile in delight.

Don has already voted as the deadline is today. Someday soon I’ll talk about what we’ve seen during this awards season – if you’d like. I’m a bit hesitant about expressing my opinion because I don’t want to put the damper on something you  might like. But I can certainly give a general overview. Let me know what you think.

Alright, my friends. I’m off to get ready for yet another trip into the city.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: rain, snow, winter 38 Comments

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • …
  • 22
  • Next Page »
  • Email
  • Instagram

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.

Thanks for stopping by.

Searching?

The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

Disclosure/Privacy Policy can be found in the Navigation Bar under ‘About MHC.’

Also, I love receiving comments! I do, however, reserve the right to delete any comment that is in poor taste, offensive or is verging on spam. It’s my blog. If you’re a bot or a troll you’ll be blocked. Thanks!

Archives

All Content © 2008 - 2025 Mockingbird Hill Cottage · Log in

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT