Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 1460 — Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Post Frost

October 14, 2012 at 10:08 am by Claudia

Friday afternoon found me hurriedly snipping all the flowers still blooming in the garden before a frost hit later that night. It’s too early. And it was even more frustrating because the rest of the week promises fairly warm temperatures. Today it’s supposed to be 69 degrees. What the heck?

The hanging plants from the porch spent the night on the kitchen table. All of the potted porch plants were nestled together on and under one of the benches and covered with sheets.

I have vases throughout the house full of pretty flowers.

My newish hydrangea has been shorn of all its blooms.

I love these pink tinged flowers. I’ll let them dry here in this vase.

The catalpa didn’t drop all of its leaves at once, but it dropped many of them throughout the day. (I’ll take some photos later today.) The hyacinth bean vines I have running along the fence bit the dust. So did the sweet potato vines. Sob. I know it’s all part of the life cycle of a garden but, nevertheless, it makes me sad.

I spent the day mowing the lawn and raking leaves. Some of the leaves I could just mow over and mulch. But there are certain areas of the yard where the massive amount of fallen leaves is just too deep to mow. I have still have a bit more mowing to do but its raining today.

Ah well, I’ll be forced to drink hot chocolate and crochet another Obsession Scarf.

We’re watching a lot of baseball this week. If my Red Sox can’t be in the post season, they were rather dreadful this year, then I will cheer for the Tigers (my home town) and the SF Giants.

How are you on this Sunday morning? What are your plans for the day?

Linking to Elaine’s Sunny Simple Sundays.

A Favorite Thing Saturday #7

October 12, 2012 at 8:00 pm by Claudia

What, you say? It’s already time for A Favorite Thing? Again?

Yes, an enthusiastic yes, indeed!

Let’s take a look at a few of the wonderful contributions from last week’s get-together.

Judy, of 20 North Ora, shared her sweet fairy garden with us. If you know Judy, you know that she loves Coca-Cola collectibles, so it seems oh-so-perfect that her garden is in a collectible Coca-Cola crate.

Mary, of A Breath of Fresh Air, shared her one of her favorite things – a sunset safari camel ride on the beach in Broome, Australia. Mary has been traveling quite a bit and has lots of adventures to share on her blog. This looks pretty amazing to me.

And Sandy of The Wonders of Doing, shared such a touching story. This sampler was stitched by her mother and given to Sandy and her husband when they moved into a new home many years ago. Sandy’s brother died in 1986. She asked her sister-in-law if she could have her brother’s lithograph from Boy’s Town – something he had always cherished. She was turned down. Sixteen years later, during a move, the frame for the embroidery pictured above was broken and some damage was done to the embroidery. But when Sandy looked at the damage, she discovered her brother’s favorite lithograph behind the embroidery. Amazing.

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I had something else picked out to share with you this week, but we suddenly have a frost warning for tonight. It’s one of those one-night-only things and I’ve been cutting my remaining flowers and preparing to cover some of my plants.

But what makes me the saddest is that my beloved catalpa tree (photo taken today) with its large green heart-shaped leaves will suddenly drop those leaves overnight. Whenever we have a hard frost, the catalpa sheds its leaves en masse. My catalpa tree is one of my favorite things here at the cottage and as I was looking out my bedroom window this afternoon, I spent some time gazing at my tree trying to memorize its beauty. All that lush green growth will be gone tomorrow.

Now it’s your turn! What do you have to share this week?

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