Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Blooms and a Day in the City

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The bridal veil spirea is in bloom:

It’s really beautiful this year!

We did a lot of work outside on Monday and Tuesday. The entire property is mowed except for the constantly wet secret garden, there has been much weeding and pruning, and I finally sowed some seeds yesterday, about two weeks later than usual. Don is tired and sore from all the mowing, but we knew we had a lot of rain coming so it was important to get ahead of it.

Today is rainy and tomorrow will be, as well. We have one dry day on Friday and then it rains again. And so it goes.

I’m writing this earlier than usual because we’re headed into the city today to see Jim in Mother Play  on Broadway. We have our bus tickets already. We’ll stop at a favorite diner before the matinee. Don says we’re going on a date, and I suppose we are. These days, unless it’s for work, we don’t really travel (even a little.) This is a bit of an extravagance for our tight budget, but Jim is dear to me, and, as you know, he has been enormously supportive of my work And I feel the same way about him. I’m so thrilled he’s been nominated for a Tony! He is so talented and hard-working.

So. A rainy day ahead for us in Manhattan, but both the diner and the theater are only a few blocks away from the Port Authority Bus Terminal, so no big deal.

See you on Friday.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Puzzle Solving and Some Critters

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Finished puzzle:

By the artist Alphonse Mucha – “Zodiac.” I love, love his work and it was a joy to solve this puzzle.

Entirely with my left hand, by the way!

It’s getting much better.

It was both a rainy and a sunny weekend. Don mowed on Saturday and I did some pruning and weeding outside. Yesterday, it rained. Today is going to be sunny and then more rain for Tuesday and Wednesday. Wednesday is the day we go into the city to see the play. Fortunately, the theater is only a few blocks from the bus terminal – that works out well!

Over the weekend, we observed this year’s bunnies, a groundhog, a deer on the front lawn, lots of birds, and two beautiful mourning doves who stopped for a while on the birdbath. Oh, and a squirrel drinking out of the birdbath, which I’ve now seen three times this spring. I’ve never witnessed that before in all the years we’ve lived here. Is it the same squirrel every time?

And robins are building a nest in the burning bush. They built one there last year, as well. Welcome, little robins! I suppose I will be scolded every time I try to weed the big garden bed. Oh, boy.

I finished the book I was reading, so we stopped at the library to pick up the two books that I had on hold. They are The Instruments of Darkness  by John Connolly (a favorite author) and Close to Death  by Anthony Horowitz, another favorite author. I’ve already started the Connolly. Connolly writes detective novels unlike any others I know of, as they  have a supernatural element, as well.

Just saw a chipmunk on the porch railing, chowing down on some sort of snack. Adorable.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Fog

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The fog comes
on little cat feet.
It sits looking
over harbor and city
on silent haunches
and then moves on.

Carl Sandburg

I think of this poem nearly every time I see the fog. So simple, yet so evocative. I was in a production of The World of Carl Sandburg  many moons ago, and it was a lovely experience. Consequently, I can recite great swaths of his poetry at the drop of a hat – all these years later. My great friend from my school and theater days back in my hometown was in it with me. He died several years ago, much too young.

A melancholy memory on a foggy morning,

Today will be rain-free, then more rain tomorrow. And on it will go, throughout the week ahead.

I’ve been informed that two newly published books that I had on hold have arrived at my library, much sooner than I expected. Suddenly, I will have to scramble to finish The Heist  by Daniel Silva, so I can read the new arrivals in the 14 days allotted to me. I read a big chunk of the Silva this morning. Fortunately, they’re fast-paced thrillers, which surely helps.

Did anyone see the Northern Lights? Nothing here, but it was cloudy last night and we were told not to expect anything than the occasional green flash of light. In the brief time I observed the sky, there were no flashes. I’ll have to check the neighborhood Facebook page to see if anyone around here saw them.

I saw them once when I was a camp counselor working in northern Michigan. We were on an overnight with our campers – my fellow counselor on the overnight was my boyfriend at the time. They were stunning. That would have been the summer of 1972.

Oh, to be young again!

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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