winter — Page 29

Chicken Wire Capital of the World

December 2, 2014 at 8:32 am by Claudia

Welcome to Mockingbird Hill Cottage, chicken wire capital of the world.

Working with chicken wire is not one of my favorite things to do. But that’s what we did yesterday when we took advantage of warmer temperatures to construct a temporary corral for Scout. We’ve worked with chicken wire before – the large corral is also made out of chicken wire and stakes.

But we must have been younger when we put that together. About nine years younger.

And now we have even more chicken wire on the property.

My patience was put to the test. Unrolling the chicken wire was a feat in itself. But gradually we found a kind of rhythm and work progressed, along with muddy jeans and misplaced tools. Why can’t I keep track of screwdrivers and wire cutters? Same thing with my scissors when I’m sewing.

Many curse words, of course. That’s a given.

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Finito. It ain’t a beauty but who cares?

Don is helping Scout get acclimated. She’s curious about it and clearly is wondering what the heck her wacky parents are up to now. We’ve decided that when the snow and ice accumulate, we’ll close off the entrance to the corral with a garden bench that can be easily moved into place. We’ve moved the little gate to a new position and now, when she can’t get to the big corral, she will have to go to the right to do her business. On flat ground. We can still exit from the side door via the gate. We’re not blocking the oil delivery path.

Roger. Over and out.

It’s small, but it will do. We can keep it snow and ice free. It’s doable. And that, my friends, is a huge relief. Because that means life will be easier for our girl.

Those benches are covering my newish hydrangea and rose bush. They serve as a reminder not to dump too much snow on the plants, as well as protection from winter winds.

Scout has also developed a fascination for cards.

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Very grainy – captured with my iPhone at night – but you get the picture. She loves watching Don shuffle the cards.

And yes, those are Mallomars, one of man’s greatest inventions, in the background.

Let’s close with a recent sunset. This beauty happened the night before the Nor’easter. I just now noticed that little sliver of the moon on the left.

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Winter sunsets are spectacular. Maybe it’s Mother Nature’s way of helping us through the cold and snow and ice and dark skies at 4 pm. It’s the least she can do.

Happy Tuesday.

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March 19, 2014 at 8:49 am by Claudia

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It’s melting. Slowly but surely. The three different sections of snow in the dog corral used to be so high that I couldn’t see Scout as she walked the paths.

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And the chairs on the Funky Patio are recognizable once again.

A few more days of temps in the forties and most of it will be gone. Our local weather will still be on the cold side for the rest of March. Winter clearly doesn’t want to leave our neck of the woods just yet.

Thanks for all of the wonderful comments on yesterday’s post. It clearly struck a chord with many of you. You know, I was really trying to examine the curious process of aging, of seeing a reflection in the mirror that is no longer the same person you knew and how I myself struggle with that process. How do I come to terms with that? I sort of sailed through most of my fifties. It was only toward the end of that decade that I started to see some real changes.

I’ve lost about 10 – 15 pounds this winter by cutting out sugar. I have a sweet tooth but I found that after a few weeks without sweets, I didn’t crave them. I’d still like to lose more weight, simply because I feel better, have less aches and pains and more energy without the extra weight I was carrying.

I really am not someone who wants to color my hair. Though I said that sometimes it seems to make my skin look even paler, at the same time, I receive lots of compliments about my gray hair. I always have. I think it’s less about hair color for me and more about spirit, joy, an appetite for learning and growing and, finally, a happiness that comes from within. So, yes, maybe I’ll consider coloring my hair, but frankly? Probably not. I will put on makeup more often, however. I do feel better if I have it on when I’m in public. But don’t start thinking I’m going to go through some sort of makeover, unless we’re talking about a change in perception and attitude. That’s where the makeover needs to happen. Everything else is surface, and that’s perfectly fine, nothing at all wrong with that. But it isn’t any substitute for facing fear and the very real fact that we all age and have to come to terms with it.

I think the goal for me is coming to a joyous acceptance of being a certain age. That doesn’t mean giving up or giving in; it means embracing, exulting and knowing, deep within, that all one’s years of living are reflected in the lines on the face, in the gray of the hair, in the inner wisdom that shines through every pore of the skin.

It’s a struggle at times. I’ve been down lately. I’ve been homebound a lot. I seem to be on the edge of some transition with my career and it worries me. My mother has been ill. All of that is reflected in the way I see myself at this moment in time. Sometimes I call Don and cry. I did that yesterday. Life can be messy.

But on a good day, I have a twinkle in my eye and a great sense of humor, I have lots of love in my heart and a sense of the ridiculous, I’m really smart and, boy, have I learned a lot over the years. I dance around the house, I sing to my doggie, I make funny faces, I laugh a lot, I create, I write, I help others, I try to be of service.

Not bad. Not bad at all.

Happy Wednesday.

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Chatty on Friday

March 14, 2014 at 9:16 am by Claudia

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• Weather-wise, we were fortunate compared to some of you, who I know got lots more snow. We got a lot of rain, then sleet, flash freezing and ice, and a dusting of snow. The ice continues to be a pain in the tush for Scout. That poor girl has to navigate a dog corral that one moment is squishy and slippery with mud after a 57 degree day and the next moment is full of treacherous ice patches because we had a flash freeze. This morning she stopped right behind an ice patch that was outside the kitchen door and just stared at me with an expression that said, “I have to deal with this again? Enough already.”

I get it, my girl. I echo your sentiments. I have more than had it with this bizarre winter. I feel like most of the time Don has been away, I have been putting all my energy into coping with the elements. Chopping ice, shoveling snow, figuring out how to get the ice dams on the roof to melt, trekking through four foot high snow drifts to rake the roof, salting, clearing several feet of snow to find the downspouts and gutter extensions, worrying about the weight of snow on the roof.

I might not be cut out for the role of a pioneer woman.

• I’m feeling a bit stir crazy here at the cottage. I’m contemplating a trip south to IKEA and Trader Joe’s. I need a change in scenery. TJ’s has the best deals on fresh flowers and heaven knows I could use some around here. And sometimes I simply need to take a jaunt through IKEA. Today might be the day.

• I’m reading The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith. It’s a very well written mystery that got great reviews in Great Britain when it was published. Then it somehow got out that Robert Galbraith was really J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series. She wanted to publish something under another name, free of all the expectations that would come if she published a new series under her own name. She is a wonderful writer.

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• The Seagull by Anton Chekhov opened Wednesday night in Boston. Here’s a photo of Don with Kate Burton (a wonderful actress and the daughter of Richard Burton.) Now all the rehearsals and long days are over and Don can settle into the run of the play.

I love Chekhov. I was in The Three Sisters when I was an actress and it remains one of my favorite experiences. I’ve coached several different productions of Chekhov’s plays. He was such a wise man, so attuned to the complexities of the human spirit. And very funny, as well.

Check out those mutton chops on Don!

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• My girl with a look in her eyes not unlike the look she gave me this morning. She’s a beauty. And a handful. She misses her dad. We would go visit him, but he’s staying in an apartment that is only reached by stairs – a lot of them. She just can’t handle that many stairs these days. And she’s too big to carry. So we have to stay here. If only there was an elevator there! There is Don, in the city where I lived for many years and still love, and I can’t be with him. (And no, we really can’t afford a hotel.) Ah well. It’s frustrating, but Scoutie’s health and well-being has to be our top priority.

• On a very sad note, my brother-in-law lost his mother yesterday, just two weeks after he lost his brother. Gracie was a wonderful woman who was the proud matriarch of her family. Loving, strong, wise – she was a role model for everyone. At what one would consider an ‘advanced’ age, she was helping build houses for Habitat for Humanity. John adored her, as did Meredith and my nephews. Rest in peace, Gracie. You will be missed by so many. We are blessed to have known you.

That’s all for now.

Happy Friday.

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Chicken Wire Capital of the World

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