Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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The Garden, Deer & Gypsy Moth Caterpillars

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Boy, the plants in the gardens are really taking off. Except for yet another phlox that I caught a young deer chomping on at 5:30 this morning. Darn it! It will come back but it was one of the few that hadn’t been chomped on the first time around. It will be a case of delayed gratification.

But back to “taking off” –

There’s the Annabelle hydrangea right next to the spirea. Lots and lots of blooms this year. And the roses to the right are also blooming.

We are having an outbreak of gypsy moth caterpillars in our area. They are everywhere. And they’re eating all the leaves on one of my oaks, and most likely on another one up in the woods. It’s terrible! There are all sorts of posts on our local FB pages about them and I guess you can really see the devastation up on the mountains. They’re also attacking rose bushes (I removed one from a bush the other day, but you can’t touch them directly or they’ll give you a rash.) And willows. And pines. So far, all of my maples seem safe, but damn, it’s horrendous! We’ve lived here nearly 19 years and I’ve never seen anything like it. There are all sorts of “remedies” but they don’t work consistently and many of oaks around here are very old and very tall and it’s impossible to get to the caterpillars because they start at the top of the tree and work their way down. I see them on the side of the house and one dropped on my head a few weeks back. I’m hoping we’ll soon see the end of the devastation. And I’m praying our young oaks survive this. Supposedly, they start to change into moths in mid to late June. Metamorphosis is coming. But in the meantime…

Be gone!

Harper in a new ensemble made by Hilly Rags, who lives in England. I have not been buying clothes for the girls, but every once in a while, when I have a little extra and something pops up, I treat myself. I have another dress by a different maker coming in the next week or two.

She looks darned cute, doesn’t she?

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Crabapples

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Last night the temperature went down to 31 and there was frost on my car windshield this morning. Tonight? 34. On Saturday things will get back to normal and I think we will have officially turned the corner into Serious Spring.

I can’t wait. My sinuses can’t wait, as well.

I’m going to do some mowing today. Same mower as last year – with the real wheel drive broken. When we can afford to, we’ll replace it. But with Don’s car repairs and some other expenses needing to be dealt with first, we’ll just have to work with the mower as is. We have to mow in smaller increments, but we get it done.

As far as I can tell, we have two different kinds of crabapple trees on the property. You remember the crabapple that was cut down by an overzealous county employee? That was my favorite kind of crabapple and I miss that tree to this day. But I have discovered at least two younger trees that are the same kind as the one we lost. They are now blooming. They’re on the far side of the house.

The blooms are a deep pinkish red. As they begin to open, they turn pink.

The flower is white and pink.

Aren’t they lovely? I’m so happy to have found them. Actually, I found them last year. This year they’re larger and there are a lot more blooms. They bring a smile to my face, which is much needed as I read the news. Enough said. You know what I’m thinking.

There are lots of dandelions on our front lawn which also makes me happy, as bees depend on them in the early spring. And even when we mow, they come back very quickly. Speaking of bees, I’ve been keeping an eye on the catalpa tree where the honey bees often reside and I haven’t seen any so far.

I’m seeing more and more green on some of the trees in the distance. Hurrah! And I’m certainly seeing buds on all of the trees. The catalpas are always the last to leaf out.

Once tonight’s cold temps are a thing of the past, we’ll be saying goodbye to winter for good.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

 

Soggy Monday

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Hickory nuts from our shag (or Shagbark ) hickory  – nicknamed Junior. Junior was a baby when we first moved here. A sapling. His father, one of the four magnificent trees in our front yard that we fell in love with when we first saw the property, mysteriously died several years ago. We have no idea why. We also had to take down our weeping willow, which was one of the trees that sold me on the house, because its roots had invaded our septic system. Now, there are only two of those four trees left – the catalpa and the maple.

Junior started producing nuts a few years back. Between Junior and several black walnut trees on the property, we have a lot of nuts on the ground. (Some might say that there are two nuts living in the house, as well.)

They’ve really weighed down the lower branches this season.

It rained over the weekend and rained all night long – torrential rain. More to come later today and on Wednesday. Sigh. I wish I could describe how waterlogged this property is. After I finish this post, I’ll go downstairs to empty the dehumidifier bucket.

Oh, for a cool, crisp and dry autumn!

I am now reading the epilogue of War and Peace. It’s long and rather dry, with Tolstoy talking about war and historians. In my younger days, I would have skipped it, saying I had finished the book. But really, if I skip it, I haven’t finished this book. I’ve just stopped early. So I will finish it, knowing Tolstoy was very wise and that I am sure to glean some gems from his musings.

Then I’ll be done!

That book I reserved from the library – where I am number one in the queue – is still not on its way to me. So maybe I am #1 in line, but the book itself hasn’t been returned yet so it cannot travel to my library. Our branch isn’t open today, so I won’t get an update until tomorrow. Can you tell I’m anxious to read it?

Don just left to grab a few things at the grocery store. I threw all the towels in the wash. I need to find the subject matter for my next painting. Don is writing a new song.

That’s kind of it, my friends. Not at all exciting. We need to work, but there’s nothing on the horizon for me. Darko has two productions coming up, but neither of them need a speech/dialect/acting coach, as far as I can tell.

Don can’t work because of the strike.

In keeping with the theme of the post, we’re going a little bit nuts!

Yes, I know it’s September 11th. I’ve talked about it many times over the years, so I’ll leave it at that. At some point, repeating what has been said before is unnecessary. We all know.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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