Mockingbird Hill Cottage

I took this photo last week with my telephoto lens. It’s the prop plane that flies over our house several times a day. It’s from the well known sky diving facility in our town. After they’ve jumped, the pilot flies over our neighborhood as he starts to circle back to the “Ranch.” Sometimes we run into a jumper who landed in an unexpected place. Last year, Don gave one of those jumpers a ride back to the ranch.

I mowed about 2/3 of the front lawn yesterday and Don mowed the rest. It was in the eighties, so we were both quite tired when we finished. I also did some pruning.

The laptop arrived and I’ll spend the weekend figuring it out.

Today, I want to honor my nephew, Meredith’s second oldest child. Today, he is graduating from law school. Not only that, he will take the bar exam in July and the start his new job with the District Attorney’s office in August!

If you knew the very tough time he went through as a teenager, the struggles, the pain, you would feel the same way Don and I do: this is a triumph, a victory that seemed impossible a number of years ago. At that time, my sister’s fierce devotion to him, getting him the help he needed, never giving up, helped him through to the other side. And everything that has happened since has been a testament to his inner strength, to his commitment and goodness. I am so proud of him.

God bless you, dear one, as you begin this new journey. And God bless my sister, who is the best mother there could ever be.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

This is a – what would you call it? – a leaf pod from one of our shag hickories. This is what first emerges in the spring. It’s just beginning to open.

Once the pod opens, the leaves appear.

I think they’re so beautiful, like perfect little sculptures.

I’ve been using my big girl camera a bit more lately and I’m really enjoying it.

I slept in a bit today, which really helped. It’s another beautiful day out there with abundant sunshine. I have to sow my zinnia seeds today, which is later than I normally do, but everything is slightly delayed this year.

I had a long talk with Don yesterday and we agreed that I had to order a new laptop. That left me feeling stressed for much of the day. I felt guilty for my boneheaded move that ended up spilling water all over my laptop. And now I have to use money that I’d planned to add to our savings account. But, in the end, there’s nothing I can do. Don tells me to let go of the guilt and I’m working on it.

Anyway. I ordered it from Apple and it will arrive sometime today, most likely late in the day because it’s coming via UPS and that’s when they deliver here.

New puzzle barely started – this one is a painting by Klimt.

Today: more mowing.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Well, after 48 hours, I tried to turn on my laptop and nothing happened.  Very depressing. I have some decisions to make, but I’ll hold off for a bit. In the meantime, I’ll peck away on the iPad keyboard. Far from ideal, but better than nothing.

Forgot to show you the finished puzzle. I finished it on Sunday. As seems to be the case lately, there’s one piece missing. I know I didn’t drop it, so…who knows? Anyway, I worked on this for a long time with a longish break for rehearsals and 3 weeks of being sick. I love Renoir.

I didn’t keep my promise yesterday. Instead, I found myself mowing the lilac side of the lawn, the back forty, and the secret garden. All I can say is that sometimes when I’m very tired, I need to do something to get me through it. We still have to mow the front lawn and corral, but that can wait a few days. Meanwhile, Don did the recycling, several loads of laundry, and made an apple pie. Today, we are definitely taking it easy.

Oh, so pretty,

I somehow managed to transfer this photo from my big girl camera to my iPhone via Bluetooth. It wasn’t easy, at least this first time, and I MISS MY LAPTOP! There’s no slot for my camera chip on my iPad.

Writing via the iPad is tiring. I could buy a little keyboard for it, but it still can’t perform all the functions that my laptop does. It’s basically a large iPhone.

I’m going to warm up my coffee and contemplate the mess I’m in.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.