Mockingbird Hill Cottage

From Don’s camera this morning – one red leaf remaining on the burning bush.

And another sigh. Lots of sighs lately.

This seasonal transition is a hard one for me, as you know. I’m also one week away from a big birthday and that is weighing on me, as well. Time seems to go by so quickly these days. Thank goodness for a husband who understands and makes me laugh. And for puzzles that keep my mind occupied in a meditative way. And for books, always.

It’s now very cold here and will be even colder tomorrow. The porch plants made it through the night, but I doubt they will make it through tonight.

I think I need to reread some of Mary Oliver’s wintery poems. Her eye for detail and her observations always keep me grounded.

Sorry! This isn’t a very good photo because the light was funky. There are words under different headings like ‘propagation’ and ‘soil.’ But you can’t make them out. I’d retake it, but I was about to deliver lots of finished puzzles to my friend Heidi, so I took it apart rather hurriedly. Heidi works for a non-profit north of us that is a food pantry, thrift store, and community cafe. They feed, clothe, and respond to the needs of our county and they’ve been around for 50 years. I donate the puzzles so that those in need can buy them at a highly discounted price. Heck, they might even be free in some cases.

I read a nice big chunk of The Shadow Murders yesterday and I plan to do the same today. I love Adler-Olsen’s writing. And just a little over two weeks from now, Louise Penny’s newest will be released. Can’t wait!

Spoiler Alert  opens on December 2nd. Jim, Ben, and Michael Ausiello (the author of the book – Jim plays him in the movie) are attending a screening in San Francisco tonight. They’ll have a discussion with the audience afterwards. And there’s another screening coming up in NYC. Don and I want to go to a movie theater to see it – something we rarely do these days. I think Don is even more excited about it than me.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

 

 

Post storm morning. It’s rather balmy out there, but the wind has picked up as the front exits. This will be the last warmish day for us for a long time. Next week, the daytime highs will be in the 40s and the nighttime lows will be in the 20s.

My assignment this weekend?  Accept the fact that my porch plants will be no more. (I already brought in the Boston fern a few weeks ago.) It always makes me so sad to see plants that are thriving and re-blooming and know that their death sentence is around the corner. These are the times I wish I had a greenhouse.

See? Just writing about it is making me tense. And sad.

Don is excited because our snowblower is being picked up today by a guy who repairs them. We were going to sell this one and buy something lighter and easier to handle. But Don did a lot of research. They are very expensive nowadays and he read a lot of reviews about the less heavy snowblowers; they don’t do well in deep snow. And we get a lot of deep snow. Added to this is our driveway, which slopes downhill to the road where tons of snow accumulates, aided by the snow plows. It wouldn’t work well for us. So, I recommended he use our community page on Facebook and ask for a reliable repair place. This morning, a guy who got a lot of recommendations is going to come and take the snowblower in for repair. Carburetor definitely needs cleaning, oil needs to be changed, etc.

Exciting times here at the cottage. Especially for Don.

That’s really all that’s new. I have chores to do today, a little work on the puzzle, a little reading, and a little apple pie.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.