Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

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The End of Autumn

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Oh, I know – Winter isn’t officially here until December. Nevertheless, it looks more and more like winter around here. There are still some leaves on the ground, but as I sat in our den this morning talking with my husband, I noticed that every tree that I could see was leafless. There is a certain beauty in their silhouettes against the gray sky. I have been very slow this year in putting things away that were on the porch all spring and summer. Every day I say, “Today I will pack up the cushions, take down the last of the plants, stack everything up and put it in the shed.” But I don’t. I’m not sure why, but I think it has to do with my reluctance to acknowledge the end of the porch season. Truly, it would only take me about half an hour to clean up. I could have done it today. I didn’t. I am usually very impatient with any lingering mess, in the house or out of the house. So I am enjoying watching myself from afar and learning to be patient with myself.

My little gazing globe, for example, pictured above, is usually packed away in the shed by now. But if I had packed it away, how would I have taken this photo with my new camera? You see, there’s a reason for my slow pace.

My wandering camera and I encountered these beautiful rose hips on the edge of our woods. They are on the wild rose bushes that surround our property and grow so freely everywhere. They look so lovely against the bare branches of the surrounding trees and bushes.

On another note, I feel increasingly high-tech. You’ll remember that I got a laptop in September, then I got my new camera for my birthday, and today we got new cell phones so that we can text message when necessary. What’s next??? I do remember a time when I went to a pay phone, put a dime in (or quarter) and made a call, when I went to the library to look up information that I routinely google now, and took photos with any number of low-tech cameras. It seems so distant now. It wasn’t that many years ago that I was on the faculty at Boston University and none of us had a computer in our offices. Very few of us (I certainly didn’t) had one at home. Those that did were considered wealthy and very high-tech. It is amazing how far we’ve come and how affordable these items have become. I’m grateful for all my toys but have to guard against being overly dependent on them. They are wonderful, but are no substitute for conversation, reading a book, knitting, quilting or any number of things.

That’s all for now. More later.

Sunlight

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We are expecting more snow on Friday – how much there will be we don’t know. Today is very cold…but it is sunny. We are blessed with many windows in this cottage and nothing is as beautiful to me as the sun pouring in, washing over the pine floors and spilling onto the furniture. When we were house hunting, we saw so many houses that were nothing like the picture in the listing. You know the feeling: you get all excited and think this is the one! This is what we’ve been waiting for! Then you actually see the house and find that there’s a gas station next to it, or the inside should be condemned, or the rooms are so small you can barely move. When I saw the picture of this cottage, I got excited all over again. It looked so charming. We wanted to see it right away, but our agent couldn’t line up a visit until the following Monday. We had to wait all weekend and I was sure someone would snap it up. This time the pictures didn’t seem to lie. When we finally arrived here and walked onto the big front porch made of bluestone, then walked into rooms filled with sunlight – we knew. We knew it was our cottage. It was smaller than we had hoped, and it didn’t have enough storage space (though it did have a dandy shed) but ultimately we didn’t care. We knew we could always add on some day, and we will. In the meantime, it is perfect for us.

My previous post spoke of winter doldrums – I still have them. But sometimes when it snows, as it did one day this winter, this is what I see in the early morning light and the beauty knocks me off my feet.

McCoy in the Winter

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It has been a dreary winter here in the Northeast. Our driveway seems to be continually covered in ice and just when we think we have it under control, it magically reappears. I was born in the Midwest and worked in both Philadelphia and Boston for several years – I am not a wimp about winter weather. The problem? I then moved to sunny San Diego where I lived for 8 years before we moved back east. The first year I lived in San Diego, I flew to northern Michigan to spend Christmas with my family. It snowed, and snowed and snowed. I will never forget landing back in San Diego and feeling a warm, tropical breeze and the sun on my face. It was heaven.

I love the seasons and I actually think we need them. The changes show us the passing of time: death, rebirth, renewal. But I do miss the sun in the mid-winter when the endless gray sky is depressing. Right about now I long for spring. I want to see the buds on the trees, see the daffodills push through the earth, and work in my garden.

So I nest, as we all do. I look at things in my cottage that give me pleasure, like my McCoy pottery collection. I love to collect things and the McCoy is top on my list. I thought I’d share a few photos of my favorite pieces with you.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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