Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Scenes from the Great Outdoors

April 5, 2012 at 8:00 am by Claudia

Well, I changed my mind. I did mulch yesterday, though I have more to do today. The largest garden bed and two others are done –  just 4 more to go. It was a beautiful day here in the Northeast, breezy, sunny and warm. Besides mulching, I’ll do some mowing today and then I have to go into Manhattan on Friday. It turns out I am leaving for Hartford on Sunday morning. As always, my friends, I will share my time on the road with you via daily posts.

In the midst of mulching the bed, I took a shot with the iPhone. Lots of sedum and catmint, day lilies, black-eyed susan and phlox are emerging from the ground. I really love having a perennial garden and most of these plants are well established by now. Sometimes, I’ll add an annual or two, but for the most part, these are all perennials.

The wiegela bush is in full bloom. I love seeing these orange-red blossoms on the far side of the front yard. The wiegela and the hyacinth are the first things to bloom. The daffodils will be right behind them.

Speaking of beauties…

That’s my girl.

I now have photos from three lovely ladies: Jennifer, Debby and Patti. Thank you! Keep them coming, please!  Remember:

Happy Thursday.

 

Filed Under: etsy, garden, Scout 13 Comments

Like Water for Rocks

April 4, 2012 at 8:34 am by Claudia

Thank goodness for this lovely. Because all I’ve seen for days, weeks and months is this:

This is only a small section, folks. Not all of those clumps are rocks, by the way. But many, many of them are. Let me tell you, if I spent all day, every day, all summer long, trying to pick up every rock in this expanse of dirt, I still wouldn’t succeed. I’m going to rename this property. No longer Mockingbird Hill Cottage, the new name is Don and Claudia’s Rock Quarry.

Endless. Mind numbing. Back breaking. Fruitless. Depressing. I think that about covers it.

So yesterday we reseeded. This took quite a while as, and I know I’ve said this before, most recently in the first full paragraph of this post, this is a huge expanse of dirt. Then I hooked up the hose and watered it. This took a long while. No sooner had I done it, than the ground looked dry again. Hmmm. So I searched for our sprinkler and hooked that up. By this time, Don had left for work. I knew I would have to do all this watering in sections. When I went out to move the sprinkler, I skidded in wet mud. There was mud all over my jeans, my muck shoes, the hose – you name it. After doing this a few times, I wised up and gingerly tried to move the sprinkler to a new section of dirt by pulling on the hose. I didn’t want to have to shut off the water every time I moved it because our hook-up is way around the other side of the house, so of course, I got drenched with water each time.

Fun times.

According to my entirely self-imposed schedule, I’m supposed to mulch today. I’m sore, tired and have to do some more work on The Tempest. So you know what? I just might wait to mulch until I come back home for a few days next week. At the moment it just seems too overwhelming.

On to other things. Having my own post office box, a new thing for me, is fun. I don’t get to the post office often – maybe once a week. On Monday I dropped in to mail a package and I had two notices of packages waiting!

Regula, who lives in Switzerland, sent me CHOCOLATE. After my post about the Spicy Hot Chocolate (which Don, it turns out, likes) she took pity on me and sent me some real Swiss Chocolate. That will be going with me to Hartford. She also sent individually wrapped pieces of milk chocolate and, I think, an herbal tea, plus a crystal heart and a doily. Yesterday, with its endless wrestling with dirt and mud, turned out to be the perfect day to sample some of those little pieces of chocolate. Okay, many. Delicious! Thank you, Regula!

And Carol (who hails from Tennessee) sent me this:

A Bride and Groom she found while thrifting. They are lovely. You are so sweet, Carol, and I thank you so much for thinking of me!

Blogging Friends are Real Friends. Virtual-Smirtual. They are real as real can be.

Have a wacky Wednesday.

Filed Under: Fellow bloggers, garden, gifts 14 Comments

Playing with Markers

April 3, 2012 at 9:08 am by Claudia

My husband intrigues me. That’s a good thing. I don’t know about you, but I like a few surprises. The good kind, that is. No shocking surprises, thank you. When Don’s at work and has to kill some time, he plays with colored markers. And he comes up with pictures like the one above.

Or this one:

“Watching Jack Benny”

And this is his most recent drawing:

Don took these photos of his drawings with his phone.

I like his style. A lot. When I was out and about running errands yesterday, he had one request: some more markers. I can see some of the new colors in this drawing.

Since he’d already posted these on Facebook, I figured he wouldn’t mind if I posted them on the blog. Nevertheless, I asked him anyway. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next!

As for today:

It’s reseeding day. I give up on the rocks. I will never get rid of them all.

Tomorrow is mulching day.

Then mowing day.

Yikes.

The fact is, I may have to leave a day early for Hartford and I have much to do in the meantime. The good news? I will get to come home for a few days while the director has everyone on their feet and is staging the play. Since I’m being put up in a Homewood Suites, the theater doesn’t want to have to pay for my room when there’s nothing for me to do. That means I can go home, see my doggies and husband and continue my planting in the garden. Then, of course, I will go back for the duration of the rehearsal period.

Don’t forget about your photos in our scarves/shawls! I’m not letting up, my friends.

Have a great Tuesday.

Filed Under: Don, gardening, husband, On The Road 19 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.

Thanks for stopping by.

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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

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