Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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I Was Just Going to Get the Dove…

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Blooming:

Good to know the bugs are already eating the hosta and coneflower leaves.

What can you do? Nothing. This garden is pesticide-free.

I went to the shop to get the dove. And only the dove.

As you can see, this dove is very different. Rustic, bits of stones showing, a faint trace of the paint, much more weathered. He’s a bit smaller, as well.

I think he’s lovely.

Reunited. Or forcefully mated by yours truly.

Anyway. My intentions were honorable. Get the dove. Say hello to everyone. Then head home.

Instead, I came home with this:

An old street sign from Woodstock, NY.

How could I leave it there?

I’m not sure where it’s going to live. Right now it’s in a garden bed. But I’m sure I’ll move it around today.

And that’s not all. I saw this and I swear I heard angels singing:

Oh my heavens. This is the kind of thing I dream of but never find. But I did find it! I think it was there all along but I was so obsessed with the pots that I didn’t see it.

Where will I put it? I don’t know. I don’t care. I’m just thrilled it’s ours.

I can’t go back to that shop for a while. Three trips in two weeks and major damage done every time.

It’s a beautiful morning and I’ve been sitting outside on the glider. It will turn into a hot and humid day, however, just like yesterday when the temperature reached 89 degrees with high humidity. Wildly uncomfortable.

Then rain tomorrow.

But for now, I’m going to enjoy the porch while I can.

Happy Saturday.

The Porch & Neccos

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Call me crazy, but I decided to put actual Necco candies in the vintage Necco jar.

A while back when I was at Tractor Supply, I noticed a bunch of them at the checkout. I scooped them up and here they are.

Don wants me to get more.

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I used to pass by their manufacturing facility in Cambridge, MA when I lived there. You could smell the Neccos. Mmmm. Such a great memory.

Taken this morning. It’s a gorgeous sunny day here. I can hear the sound of a lawnmower in the background, birds chirping and the occasional basso counterpoint from the bullfrog.

I have more mowing to do today. I mowed the back forty yesterday, as well as the corral.

The dove seems to be settling in nicely. I saw another one at Milne Antiques and Design the other day. It had lost its paint. But, doves come in pairs, don’t they? They mate for life. Maybe I need to get the other dove.

Just pondering.

The porch is my happy place.

I stepped out there this morning to take some pictures and I immediately felt lighter and happier. I’m so grateful for it. The cottage may be small, but the porch gives us an extra outdoor room, which more than makes up for it. I’m a porch person.

Happy Thursday.

A New Shop and Some Finds

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I did the mundane yesterday – recycled.

And then I treated myself to a visit to a an antique shop I’d had on my radar for a while. It’s in a neighboring town, not far at all. I think I thought it was more of a hike than it was. It’s absolutely beautiful; Milne Antiques and Design. At the risk of using an overused word, it’s beautifully curated.

I’ll share some pictures of the shop tomorrow, but today I’m going to share my finds. I follow them on Instagram so I knew they carried antique and vintage English pots and I had a hankering for some.

This pair of pots is lovely, quite large, and from the 1940s. Patina like this has to be earned over time. I really love them.

And then I saw several antique garden ornaments, also from England. My eyes fastened on one which I initially thought was a duck (don’t ask me why, now it seems absurd) until the owner told me it was a dove.

A dove. Hello. I had to buy it.

I’m in love.

Then, my unexpected splurge. I saw this, fell in love with it, had no idea where I’d put it, but I couldn’t leave it there in the shop. It’s a one-of-a-kind bookshelf. Really, it’s a piece of folk art.

Ignore the plant and the pieces below the shelf, the bottom needs a bit of support, but I’m going to find something better eventually. It was clearly made for a girl. Let me show you the details.

It has the original paint and the beautiful wood shelves. And the sides have this handpainted girl in a navy nurse’s uniform, reading a book. British navy? American Navy? I’ll have to research.

Clearly, the recipient was named Martha Jane. It’s painted on the cover of the book on all four sides.

How could I pass this up? I just felt in my gut that if I didn’t buy it, I would regret it. Originally, I thought it could go behind the sofa in place of the green shelves. But when I got it home, I realized it was too tall and didn’t look right. Since space is at a premium here, I put it upstairs on the landing. I have to style it yet. I thought about putting my Nancy Drews here along with the Hardy Boys. What do you think?

It was a fun, if a wee bit costly, day.

Happy Thursday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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