Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Garden Surprises

September 13, 2023 at 7:58 am by Claudia

Garden surprises:

I thought this endless summer hydrangea was not going to bloom at all this year, There was absolutely nothing but leaves all summer long. But a week or so ago, I noticed two blooms developing. And here we are.

Never give up, I guess!

And yesterday, as I was walking by the memorial garden, I thought I spotted something. I quickly went back and way up in the garden behind another plant was a tiny rose. I had a little bush up there that had died. In fact, I removed most of it – all of it, I thought. But there, in its place, was a tiny plant with some leaves and this:

An unexpected delight!

It’s been such a strange summer for the gardens and the trees. As I write this, it’s raining again. We had to snatch the opportunity to mow yesterday because a dry day is rare around here. Once again, the grass had grown way too long because it rains every day so we can’t mow. Mowing was exhausting, as we had to constantly stop to remove the grass that was clogging the chute. We might resort to cutting that section of the front lawn more frequently so we don’t have deal with so much tall grass. Of course, you can only do that if it doesn’t rain.

The good news: after today, we have over a week of dry weather in the forecast.

Woke up at 4:30 am this morning. So did Don. The a/c had shut off because I forgot to put it on the correct setting, It was too warm for me. Don says it wasn’t too warm for him, he just happened to wake up too early. Needless to say, we’re tired and a wee bit cranky this morning.

The enormity of the losses in Morocco and Libya is heartbreaking, I can’t stop thinking about these horrific tragedies within days of each other. Those poor people. We are seeing the evidence of climate change in hurricanes, fires, floods, drought, excessive temperatures (I’m sure I’m leaving something out of this list.) What kind of world are we leaving behind? And what are we doing about it? Not enough, and whatever we do now may be too late.

I’m in such a dark mood this morning that I could go on and on about the state of the world and our country. But I’ll stop there. Older and, hopefully, wiser.

Sometimes.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: climate change, flowers, garden 29 Comments

Soggy Monday

September 11, 2023 at 8:44 am by Claudia

Hickory nuts from our shag (or Shagbark ) hickory  – nicknamed Junior. Junior was a baby when we first moved here. A sapling. His father, one of the four magnificent trees in our front yard that we fell in love with when we first saw the property, mysteriously died several years ago. We have no idea why. We also had to take down our weeping willow, which was one of the trees that sold me on the house, because its roots had invaded our septic system. Now, there are only two of those four trees left – the catalpa and the maple.

Junior started producing nuts a few years back. Between Junior and several black walnut trees on the property, we have a lot of nuts on the ground. (Some might say that there are two nuts living in the house, as well.)

They’ve really weighed down the lower branches this season.

It rained over the weekend and rained all night long – torrential rain. More to come later today and on Wednesday. Sigh. I wish I could describe how waterlogged this property is. After I finish this post, I’ll go downstairs to empty the dehumidifier bucket.

Oh, for a cool, crisp and dry autumn!

I am now reading the epilogue of War and Peace. It’s long and rather dry, with Tolstoy talking about war and historians. In my younger days, I would have skipped it, saying I had finished the book. But really, if I skip it, I haven’t finished this book. I’ve just stopped early. So I will finish it, knowing Tolstoy was very wise and that I am sure to glean some gems from his musings.

Then I’ll be done!

That book I reserved from the library – where I am number one in the queue – is still not on its way to me. So maybe I am #1 in line, but the book itself hasn’t been returned yet so it cannot travel to my library. Our branch isn’t open today, so I won’t get an update until tomorrow. Can you tell I’m anxious to read it?

Don just left to grab a few things at the grocery store. I threw all the towels in the wash. I need to find the subject matter for my next painting. Don is writing a new song.

That’s kind of it, my friends. Not at all exciting. We need to work, but there’s nothing on the horizon for me. Darko has two productions coming up, but neither of them need a speech/dialect/acting coach, as far as I can tell.

Don can’t work because of the strike.

In keeping with the theme of the post, we’re going a little bit nuts!

Yes, I know it’s September 11th. I’ve talked about it many times over the years, so I’ll leave it at that. At some point, repeating what has been said before is unnecessary. We all know.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

Filed Under: books, reading, trees 33 Comments

Mei, Spiders & A Question

September 9, 2023 at 9:08 am by Claudia

Okay. My first question – maybe my only question: Has anyone had the RSV vaccine yet? If so, how was it? They recommend getting it in September, so we’re contemplating doing that. At the same time, I’m masking now whenever I go out, so maybe I don’t have to worry?

Interestingly, after a stretch of time where weren’t masking, I’ve had to work hard to persuade Don to mask. He’s so used to not doing it. And he wasn’t really reading the information about the new variant or the numbers of people getting Covid. I kept mentioning all the people I knew who had it for the first time after 3 years of avoiding it. He would sort of wave me off because I think he didn’t want to deal with that reality. But he’s masking now. Obviously, when he has a gig, he won’t wear a mask while performing.

This will be our future, I think. A new variant every year. All thanks to those who insisted on not wearing a mask. Who thought only of themselves and not the greater good.

I have yet to pick a new subject to paint, I’ll force myself to make a choice today.

My favorite spider, weaving his web down by the road. He was in my main garden bed a couple of weeks ago – that’s a first.

Big news on the doll front, Mei has bangs.

An online Blythe friend suggested it. Her gorgeous angora hair is very fine and flyaway and it’s always been hard to keep it out of her face. I thought about it yesterday, talked to Don about it, and then….I just did it. I also trimmed the length of her hair about a 1/4 of an inch. I liked it very much, but then, when we were sitting on the sofa, I could see her with her eyes in this position “looking” at me. Was she angry? Was she saying “What did you do??” And ,as I reminded Don, they’re not going to grow back.

This morning, though, I looked at her and had no qualms about cutting them. I really like the way they frame her face. And her hair is much easier to handle.

That’s it. I’m so, so close to the end of  War and Peace! I think I’ll get there this weekend.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: Blythe dolls, Mei 53 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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The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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