Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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You are here: Home / life / Chilly

Chilly

October 7, 2026 at 8:26 am by Claudia

Late afternoon sun hitting the limelights. They’re really beautiful this year.

Monday and Tuesday nights were very cold. Last night we had a frost advisory, so I hauled the porch plants to the shed. Usually, I bring them inside. But someone local (online) was putting her plants inside her garage for the night and I suddenly thought: the shed is our version of a garage. Why not?  So, except for a couple that are in pots that are too heavy to move, every little porch plant spent the night inside the shed.

This happens here every early October. We think it’s still warm but we have to deal with an unexpected frost. I still have zinnias about to bloom, so I’ll have to see if they’re still with us. This is the same time that my almost-ready-to-bloom morning glories would be hit by a frost and die on the vine. That’s why I didn’t plant any this year – too many years of disappointment.

The heat kicked on early this morning. We’ll soon have to bite the bullet and buy heating oil. I shudder to think what it will cost this year. The thermostat is going to be set at a lower temperature this winter.

My schefflera is coming back. This is the plant that dropped all of its leaves a couple of months ago. I thought it was a goner, but lo and behold, little tiny leaves have been forming – slowly but surely.

I’m working on my jigsaw puzzle – yesterday, I was completely immersed in it. My sanity says thank you.

Today, we grocery shop as we are out of almost everything. Next week, we get vaccinated for Covid and the flu.

Nothing new on the Beacon Hill. I have to sit down in the studio and cut baseboard molding, but the puzzle is more interesting than the baseboards, so it’s been winning the attention contest.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: life 8 Comments

Comments

  1. jeanie says

    October 7, 2026 at 8:38 am

    I was amazed to get up north and find two of my basil plants still going and the geraniums still hanging in there. Granted, three of them are dead-head loaded but still going and two look pretty great! But yes, last night we were around freezing, so the prediction said. This house was pretty nippy but between the space heaters and fireplace I got it from 45 into the 60s. A good week for soup and warm things!

    Reply
    • Claudia says

      October 7, 2026 at 11:13 am

      Yay for hardy plants, Jeanie!

      Enjoy your time at the cottage.

      Stay safe.

      Reply
  2. kathy in iowa says

    October 7, 2026 at 10:05 am

    glad you have the shed. i know there are times and seasons for everything, but i hope all the plants make it … especially because you love them and take good care of them. :)

    i am not good with plants, but try because i love them. and i find your photos today particularly beautiful, and poignant to me … the limelights changing their colors, and the schefflera reaching to the sun (makes me think how we all need what we need and just want to live a good life. plants included.).

    hope you stay comfy and praying that the heating oil bill isn’t a horrid number.

    glad you have your puzzle mojo back. i need my cleaning and paper-sorting mojo back.

    happy, safe wednesday to you, don and everyone else.

    kathy

    Reply
    • Claudia says

      October 7, 2026 at 11:12 am

      I’m sure the heating oil bill will be shocking. But we have no other option. So, thermostats will stay lower than normal, something I’m not looking forward to, but needs must!

      Thanks, Kathy.

      Stay safe.

      Reply
  3. Donnamae says

    October 7, 2026 at 10:15 am

    Yes….the limelights are gorgeous this year. It was cool, now it seems we will get a mini heat wave. We haven’t had a frost yet, which suits me just fine.
    Glad your plants survived.

    We are getting our Covid and flu shots on Friday, so we can rest up and recover on Saturday. The last few weeks we have been extremely busy with visits with family and friends, and it was hard to schedule two days in a row with no plans.

    Glad to hear puzzles are giving you some sanity. I have yet to find mine….sanity that is lol. And great news on the schefflera…keep hope alive! Enjoy your day! ;)

    Reply
    • Claudia says

      October 7, 2026 at 11:11 am

      Always a good idea to have a day to rest after getting those vaccines.

      I think I’m going to get the pneumonia vax, too, but I’ll wait a week.

      Stay safe, Donnamae.

      Reply
  4. kathy in iowa says

    October 7, 2026 at 10:42 am

    oh! wanted to say this, too …

    earlier this week, my search page (startpage, supposed to be especially protective of users’ privacy) was repeatedly blocking me. with some tech help, i am now using a different search tool (that is also supposed to be extra-protective of privacy). and here’s the part i like about this one very much … it blocks ai (specifically “ai-assisted answers, ai-generated images, and ai feature recommendations”)!

    if you dislike or worry about the use of ai, consider checking with your preferred search tool to see if they offer a “no ai” option. if they don’t, for what it’s worth, i am using “no ai duckduckgo.com”. not meant to be a commercial for or against any search tool. and sorry if this is old, obvious news to everyone but not-tech-y me … haha. (claudia, please delete this comment if you feel the need to do so for any reason).

    kathy

    Reply
    • Claudia says

      October 7, 2026 at 11:10 am

      I use Startpage and it’s been fine. But I’ve also used Duck Duck Go (Don uses that.) Startpage is on my Vivaldi browser and Vivaldi blocks all AI.

      xo

      Reply
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Welcome!

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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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