Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / Archives for trees

Catalpa, Books, Don, and What are you reading?

June 16, 2023 at 9:13 am by Claudia

I’m telling you, the catalpa is more spectacular than ever! Both Don and I cannot believe how gorgeous it is. More rain today and tomorrow; let’s hope some of the blossoms survive.

Those gorgeous big heart-shaped leaves, the frothy blossoms – I’m very grateful for this old and incredibly tall tree that graces us with its beauty.

A picture I took of Don the other day. We really like this one.

I just finished The Last Remains  by Elly Griffiths. It’s the last and final book in the series and I’m already in mourning. No spoilers here, but oh my, I’m going to miss these characters, this place…everything. A superb series and I have all of you to thank for it, because I don’t know if I would have started it if you hadn’t urged me to. I’ve ordered the first two books in the Brighton series from the library system and they just arrived at my local library, so I’ll return the last two books in the Ruth Galloway series and start in on a new adventure. But can I just say it one more time? I am hoping the author rethinks this one and surprises us with another Ruth Galloway mystery.

We are officially halfway through War and Peace as of three days ago. I just started Volume 3, where we’re back to war, and caught up with Chapter 1 and 2 this morning. Tolstoy is frigging brilliant. I’d put him right up there with Shakespeare and you know how much I love Shakespeare.

Is it time for our favorite question? Yes, it is.

What are you reading?

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

Filed Under: books, Don, reading, trees 47 Comments

Tuesday Craziness

June 14, 2023 at 8:26 am by Claudia

This isn’t all that exciting, but I started to do some initial work on the dollhouse – which was interrupted, but more on that later.

This is called tapewire and it one of the methods used to wire a dollhouse for electricity. I was initially excited by this when I first got the Beacon Hill. But it’s been two years since then, and I’m less excited now. I don’t know if it works, I’m not thrilled by the way it was done (based on my total ignorance of the process) and I rarely light up my dollhouses. I use a few battery operated lights, here and there, but that’s about it. The advantage of wiring is that there are more styles of lighting available. You have more options. But they’re all expensive and I don’t see myself investing in them. I am going to try to do this house on a budget. I will most likely buy a few quality pieces, but really, the truth is that right now I only have a germ of an idea as to how I’m going to decorate. But there’s plenty of structural work that needs to be done first.

So I removed all of the tape yesterday afternoon,

Next up, priming the red and brown rooms with white so I can have a clean palate to start with.

I was ready to do that when we had to run outside to stop the guy on a tractor that the county employs to clean up the sides of the road. I don’t know if it’s the same guy, but one of those people chopped down my favorite crabapple last year. He had gone by earlier and much to my dismay, I saw he had cut down a lot of the roadside lilies (aka tiger lilies) that were about to bloom. Yet again, I was angry. Plus, he left all the things he had cut down, so I had to go out and clean it all up via 4 trips with the wheelbarrow. He also came very close to the ash tree, a tree in which we have invested time and money. Most ash trees around here died because of the emerald ash borer, but this one is hanging in there. A few years back when a crew came to cut down some of our trees, the owner of the company commented on the ash that had sprung up down by the road. He suggested treating it once a year – he just did that about a month ago – and we are hopeful it will stay alive.

Back to the guy driving the tractor, his cutter, which is sort of like a huge bucket on a long arm, was moving the branches on the ash and Don was very concerned. As was I. So the minute we heard him coming back for a second cut, we ran outside. I stood on the street near the edge of our property line, Don stood by the ash. As the guy came nearer to our property, he noticed me and shut down the tractor. I asked him not to do any more on our property. I explained that last year someone had cut down my favorite crabapple tree and that he had already cut down our tiger lilies and that we were also concerned about the ash tree. He nodded and said “I can work with that.” We thanked him. And he skipped over our property and moved on.

But what if we hadn’t been home? I can imagine other property owners must not be happy with all the cutting. Plus, a lot of debris falls into the culvert, which can result in a clogged culvert. That was part of my cleanup yesterday.

In the middle of it all, Don was stressed – so he made a pie.

We’re due for thunderstorms today, with ‘gusty winds’ possible.  I foresee a lot of catalpa blossoms on the ground. I’m going to go out there and take some photos before we lose them all. They’re so beautiful, I wish they could stay there all summer long.

Lily snuck into the bedroom because Pip seemed to be sleeping for a long time and she was concerned.

That’s a little planner (it really works) made by a favorite Blythe creator. And I bought the little dog from a toy shop when I was living in Brooklyn.

A reminder that a lot of my replies to comments (if you have a google/gmail account) are not getting through. They want us to add another layer of something-or-other that involves security. Since I refuse to jump through yet another Google hoop, that isn’t going to happen. So check back here for my reply.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: Beacon Hill Dollhouse, bjd dolls, Blythe dolls, trees 18 Comments

Gone

June 30, 2022 at 8:51 am by Claudia

Remember these? From my favorite crabapple tree on the lilac side of the lawn about 8 or 9 feet from the road?

We won’t be seeing them again.

On Tuesday, a guy on a tractor was clearing the brush on the side of the road. There is a culvert that needs to be kept clear and once a year or so, someone clears any excess brush. I suppose the County contracts these jobs out. This guy was going back and forth along the edge of our property and the property of our neighbor to the left. He was out there a long time, and I started getting concerned about what he was doing. By the time I went outside, he was ready to move on. Don reassured me, saying “They’re just trying to keep the culvert free. It’s okay.”

Later, when I went out to investigate, I discovered that he’d taken down this tree, as well as a small fir tree.  On OUR property, not the county’s. This tree was 6 feet in from the inside edge of the culvert, which makes it at least 8 feet from the road. (I measured it with a tape measure.)

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I kept hoping I was wrong. But as soon as I saw pieces of the trunk on the ground, I knew I was wrong.

They took my tree.

I went in the house and told Don, who was furious. I immediately called the County and reported it. And Don called them yesterday to report it. They supervisor is going to investigate.

Meanwhile, I am sick at heart. I cried on Tuesday. I cried off an on yesterday. This was my favorite of all the crabapple trees on the property and it was also the first one I ever discovered. I really loved it. It was a living thing and now it’s gone. I wish I’d gone out there earlier so I could have stopped it. I feel like I failed that tree.

That, coupled with the news, the hearings – everything – took me to a dark place yesterday. I’m still there. I am mourning the loss of that tree; gone because some idiot with a machine was careless. My tree – not the county’s – is gone.

I couldn’t summon the energy to write a post yesterday. I’m crying as I write the post today.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: trees 44 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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