Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 334 — Life in our little cottage in the country

Number Seven – White Rose

July 13, 2021 at 9:39 am by Claudia

Number 7 in the Pottery Portraits series: Roseville White Rose.

I’m fairly pleased with it. When I finish a painting, Don always says “This is my new favorite!”

He’s adorable.

The rain continues, though most of the thunderstorms in the area spared us yesterday and for that I’m grateful. We might get one today, but so far, it’s drizzling off and on and it’s very gray out there. This will continue for this week and then it looks like next week might bring us several days with no rain…fingers crossed.

I admit it – I suffer from lack of sun and there has been very little sun for several days now. I’m more tired. My mood is not bad, but it’s definitely a bit dark. I obviously could never live where it’s cloudy and rainy most of the time. Anyway, this is no big deal in the larger picture of life, but I do have to force myself to stay upbeat. Plus, the constant rain plays havoc with my allergies, so I feel foggy.

Ironically, the garden is blooming like crazy so I’ve made a vow to get out there today and observe the flowers. I don’t want to miss them because of the weather. Bee balm, phlox, day lilies, balloon plants, hydrangeas, coneflowers everywhere, roses…it’s quite beautiful.

And mama robin patiently sits on her little eggs. I watch her a lot – every time I go into the kitchen (and sometimes from the bathroom as well) I check on her. So does Don. Yesterday, despite the fence that is now up, some of the chickens from next door got on our property – I think there were three of them on this side of the fence. I assume they entered from the place where the fence stops, but I’m really not sure as I didn’t see them come over. I just heard them and immediately knew they were too close. I let my neighbor know and in the meantime I went out there in my pajamas to try and herd them over to their property. Two of them flew over the fence, but one didn’t know what to do. In the meantime, the rooster was crowing, trying to get the chicken back on his side of the fence. He was clearly distressed. Eventually, my neighbors managed to herd her back. A few hours later, I noticed the fence had been extended. Hopefully, the chickens, who don’t like to get too close to the street, will no longer stray.

Anyway, I had to walk back and forth under the tree where mama is nesting and she didn’t like it. Just a chirp or two, but she let me know my presence was not wanted. We try to avoid that area as much as possible so she doesn’t have to worry, but sometimes it’s unavoidable, as it was later in the day when I had to go outside to clear lint off the dryer vent. You know, of course, that the minute there are live babies in that nest, those gentle warnings will be much sterner and some dive bombing will occur.

2021 – The Summer of the Bird Nests.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Rain (Dreaming of Provence)

July 12, 2021 at 8:56 am by Claudia

In process. It looks lighter in color than it actually is due, I suppose, to the light coming in from the kitchen door. More tweaking today before I add the background color.

And the rain continues. It rained during the night, was raining when I woke up (way too early, by the way) and then turned torrential for about 45 minutes. Thunderstorms are predicted for later in the day. And this same weather forecast could be repeated for most days in the next week. Also flash flood advisories and warnings everywhere. I don’t remember the last time we had this much rain.

We are fairly positive people, but this endless rain is bringing me down. Don’s a bit better with it, but not much. Lord knows how long the grass will be by the time this is finished!

In the midst of the torrential rain, there was mama robin, patiently sitting on her eggs. She is amazing.

I cleaned a lot yesterday and washed the sheets. Then I rewarded myself with a session at the easel. I always feel calmer after painting. It centers me. It’s the result of my entire focus being on one thing. The rest of the world goes away and I can feel my tension and worries melting away. It may be only temporary, but it’s lovely, nonetheless.

Oh, for a little stone house with pale blue shutters in Provence. I will transport myself there in my daydreams and smell the lavender and wander little streets in very old towns, visiting the markets and buying fresh flowers and french soap.

It works for me!

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

An Emotional Reaction

July 11, 2021 at 10:01 am by Claudia

I’ve been working on the shape of this vase for 3 days and I’m still not satisfied. I’ll be at the easel later today.

I grabbed some time with no rain to mow part of the yard and weed whack yesterday.

Record heat in the southwest, endless rain here in the northeast. We had one day with no rain – yesterday – and now we’re facing at least 5 more days of rain. I feel for everyone dealing with high temperatures and all the restrictions as to water and electricity. It’s alarming. And I feel for everyone dealing with floods and water in basements and all the damage from the hurricane and too much rain.

Please take care.

We had an interesting discussion yesterday. It was generated by an invitation to visit with a former student of mine, who is staying with Rick for a few days. He’s one of my favorite students and normally I’d jump at the chance to see him. But, in different ways, both Don and I felt uncomfortable with the idea of visiting him. Don’s initial reaction to the invitation was that he didn’t feel comfortable going because of COVID and an earlier discussion we had about variants. Both Rick and Doug have been traveling lately. They’re very careful, of course, but they’re out in the world and therefore cannot help but be exposed to a lot of people. My former student lives in NYC and has also been traveling, and living in the city, he’s definitely out in the world. And with the news about variants and breakthrough infections and the fact that – let’s face it – there’s still so much we don’t know about this virus, I had an emotional reaction that surprised me – I ended up crying. When Don suggested that I might enjoy seeing my former student and Rick without him going along, I grew a bit panicked. And I cried some more.

We made a somewhat difficult decision to pass this time around and I responded to my student’s text and explained why we couldn’t make it. He understood, thank goodness. It may seem over-the-top, this reaction of ours, but in talking it through yesterday, it became very clear to me that there is much I am still uneasy about, that, after a year and a half of the pandemic, there are emotions beneath the surface that I’m just now acknowledging. Our home is our safe place. Don is my safe place. We’ve gone through this together. When we go to the grocery store – or any store – now, there are less and less people wearing masks. This is a marked difference from a month ago. No one hassles us when we choose to wear a mask, but the fact is, we are now the exceptions. I wonder if people are getting too complacent. Or are we overreacting? I don’t know the answer, but the advice I have passed on to others during this time is what I now need to follow: Do what you feel comfortable with. If you’re uncomfortable, don’t do it, and don’t apologize for being cautious.

Yes, we go out and shop and run errands, but we’re masked. It’s controlled. As people travel more, are exposed to more people, I can’t control the history of where they’ve been and who they’ve been exposed to.

Are we a little shell-shocked? No doubt. But, as Don said this morning, “I’m going to wait a couple of months and see what happens with the variants and with the spread of the virus.” I think that makes sense. If we’re offered work, we’ll take it. Otherwise, I think we may continue to shelter here at the cottage.

Oh, these are strange and unsettling times.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Number Seven – White Rose

Rain (Dreaming of Provence)

An Emotional Reaction

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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