Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1383 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Early Morning Garden (Sans Coffee)

June 2, 2013 at 8:55 am by Claudia

What else but my garden would get me outside at 6:30 am without having had even one measly cup of coffee?

You should be impressed.

rocket

Dame’s Rocket, which resembles phlox, is a wildflower that grows everywhere in these parts. I know it’s considered a weed, but I think it’s beautiful. This one is growing alongside the house.

lamium

Silver Dead Nettle in the main garden is starting to bloom.

rose

The Lady Elsie May roses are just starting to bloom.

rosebud

clematis

The clematis, which didn’t bloom for four whole years. Once we lost the shade of the willow, it took off like a rocket.

poppies

The poppies. The gorgeous flowers just last a day or two. Then they’re gone.

prettyweed

A weed, though I hesitate to call it that, that just finished blooming.

moreprettyweed

I think it’s beautiful.

wildroses

The wild roses, which any other time of the year I call brambles, are blooming. These are right outside our kitchen window.

viewofbiggarden

The big garden bed a few days ago.The catmint is blooming, as are the poppies.

Oh, heavens. I love my gardens. The camera I got for Christmas is experiencing Spring and the gardens of Mockingbird Hill Cottage for the first time. Camera, meet gardens. Gardens, meet camera. I could easily be outside most of the day taking pictures.

peony

A little overzealous weed-whacking the other day resulted in a cut peony stem. The next day I rescued it and put it in water, pretty sure that the bud would never bloom. I was wrong. Look what awaited me this morning! Hello, sweet peony.

It’s Sunday. The oppressive heat has broken. I’ve been watching the Red Sox/Yankees. I’m reading another excellent Deborah Crombie mystery. I finally cleaned up the porch, even the two bags of salt that were still there from this past winter. We have worries. We have cares. But we also have love, our sweet cottage, our little girl and the glory of spring here in the Hudson Valley.

Not bad at all.

If you’re at all interested, I was recently interviewed by Linda Huffman, who publishes an online magazine for women called Women Encouraged or “We” Magazine. If you want to read the interview, click here and then click on the Market Place page (in the column on the left.) Linda, thanks so much for the opportunity and for such great questions!

Happy Sunday.

signature2

A Favorite Thing #39

May 31, 2013 at 8:00 pm by Claudia

Hello everyone and welcome to A Favorite Thing #39. It’s been a crazy week weather-wise: one day cool and rainy, the next in the nineties and humid. Some of you are dealing with tornados. And it’s only May!

I just have to note that tomorrow is my parents’ 67th Wedding Anniversary. Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Let’s look at some highlights from last week:

Karen, from My Little Home and Garden spotlighted May’s flower, the lovely Lily of the Valley. It’s always been a favorite of mine, as well; such a delicate, pretty flower. And Karen, I remember that perfume! It was a favorite of many of my mom’s friends.

Eilish 005

Julie, of Julie’s Little House, shared her favorite thing – her new kitten, Eilish. Oh goodness. Look at that adorable little ball of fur! I would find it very hard to resist that face. Congratulations, Julie!

waffles

Lynda of The Auld Grey Mare, shared this recipe for Almond Flour Coconut Waffles. My mouth is watering as I type this and gaze upon her photo. They sound delicious. Thanks, Lynda.

This week my favorite thing is an essential. It helps to make this blog possible. It is never far from my side. It has enlarged my world and the way I view it. It’s my camera.

753762

When I started this blog, I had a tiny Canon point-and-shoot. Then, a few years later, I graduated to a Canon Bridge Camera – sort of the top of the line in that category – and I loved it. I wasn’t ready at the time for a camera that would take different lenses. I still have that camera. But as the blog grew, my photography skills grew and I found myself wanting one of the Canon Rebel line of cameras, DSLRs that are very user-friendly.

Finally, after a few years of dreaming and hoping, we managed to get enough money together to buy one for my Christmas present. I still have a lot to learn, but boy, do I love it! Now I want a telescopic lens. And a macro lens. But for now, I’m content with the two lenses I have and the joy of using my Canon Rebel T3i. It is, along with my laptop, one of the tools that I consider an absolute essential.

Now, it’s your turn!

You can link up anytime from this evening through Sunday. Make sure you enter the URL of your post. If you’re unsure how to do that, just click on your post title after you’ve published it and copy the information in your browser address window. Come back here, paste the URL into your link entry and there you go! If you have any problems, drop me an email and I’ll help you out. Please link back to this blog on your post. That way, those that read your post and are interested in reading more can do so.

One of my concerns about link parties is that the very reason for them has somewhat gone by the wayside. They’ve become so big and there are so many of them that many bloggers don’t take the time to visit any of the other participants. Link parties are a way to meet new bloggers and share with each other and the only way to do that is to visit each other. So, please, take some time to visit everyone over the next few days. No rush. Stop by, introduce yourself, and leave a comment. It’s the neighborly thing to do. It’s also nice if you leave a comment here, as well.

Have fun!

I’ve Gone Cicada-Crazy

May 31, 2013 at 8:32 am by Claudia

I had the most extraordinary experience yesterday morning. It had rained the night before and I decided to go outside with my camera to photograph some water drops on my plants. But what awaited me was far more interesting. There were hundreds of 17 year cicadas (magicicada) in my garden. Some had just emerged from their exoskeletons, others were in the midst of emerging. Everywhere my eyes rested, there they were. As I looked even more closely, I could see exoskeletons attached the underside of leaves. Finding them was rather like playing a game of Where’s the Cicada?

Amazing.

cicadas2exos

cicadas2oncatmint

cicadas1withexo

They emerge from the exoskeleton and slowly move around, while the wings inflate with fluid and their new skin hardens. It takes a while until they finally use their wings.

cicadaswithcat&poppy

You can see three exoskeletons in this photo and two cicadas, one is to the right of the poppy.

cicadaoncatmint

cicadaonhand

cicadainexoskeleton

This one was still in his exoskeleton. I mistakenly removed him from a plant and when I saw him walking, I realized he was still in there! So I grabbed a stick and he attached himself to it and then I transferred him back to one of the plants.

cicadaonpoppy

They were everywhere – even on my newly opened poppies.

cicadaonsedum

I was so lucky to see this. It’s all in the timing. And in the camera.

I observed them for quite a while, then I went back in the house. Within a couple of hours, they were gone, leaving the exoskeletons behind. I gently removed them from the plants (that’s when I mistakenly removed the one that was still in his exoskeleton) and it was as if they were never there.

When the nymphs, having lived underground for 17 years, emerge, they construct an exit tunnel. I saw a distinct hole in my garden soil that I’m pretty sure was the tunnel. I’ll be careful not to disturb it. Now, they will mate and plant their eggs in a tree limb and die.

Nature is extraordinary. Little miracles happen every day.

peonybud

My favorite flower is about ready to bloom. Glorious peonies, I can’t wait to see you. But then again, I can. Because once you bloom, you won’t be around for very long.

I was recently interviewed by Linda Huffman, who publishes an online magazine for women called Women Encouraged or “We” Magazine. If you want to read the interview, click here and then click on the Market Place page (in the column on the left.) Linda, thanks so much for the opportunity and for such great questions!

Happy Friday.

signature2

Early Morning Garden (Sans Coffee)

A Favorite Thing #39

I’ve Gone Cicada-Crazy

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Archives