Good morning.
I’ve been averaging about 3 hours sleep a night since last Tuesday. On Sunday, the cumulative effect of that left me feeling as if I was going mad. Thankfully, last night I had a normal night’s sleep, but it will take me a couple more days to recover.
We also had some rain last night – a light rain that lasted several hours. We are in a drought, so it was very welcome. There are several wildfires in my county and neighboring counties because of extremely dry conditions.
Sunrise yesterday morning. Right after I took this picture, a fox ran through our back yard.
Bluebirds stopped off at our ‘inn’ the other day. And there were more this morning. I’ve never seen bluebirds stopping off here on their way south until this year. We’ve lived here nearly 20 years. There were also more mockingbirds – appropriate, don’t you think?
The nighttime temps went down to 27 the other night. I’d had it with transporting all the plants inside and, since I was sleep deprived, it seemed overwhelming. Time to let them go. We did cover them with a tarp on the porch, but as expected, the impatiens are slowly leaving, they’re always the first to succumb to the cold. I trimmed back some of the frost damaged sections and they’re hanging in there, but since we have 3 freezing nights coming up this week, I suspect they’ll be gone soon. The other plants – the calibrachoa, and the hanging plants (I can’t remember the name) – are still going. I brought the Boston fern and my geranium inside. I’ve been overwintering them for at least 7 or 8 years.
The pansies, however, are cold weather lovers and they’ve come back beautifully.
That’s a little gift and boy, do we need them right now.
We went to Target the other day and I found this:
A large version of the little Target reindeer that I have the girls’ shelves. This one is 13 inches high and was only $10.
Pru looks a little wary. I can’t wait to have more fun with this guy when it’s the holiday season – which can start anytime, by the way. We need it.
I’ve reached this point. I still believe there’s something off about the vote count. Actually, I believe he cheated. I have to trust that it’s being investigated behind the scenes. So I have to stop stressing about it. It’s taking a toll on my physical and mental health. As of today, we are hunkering down here at the cottage, giving ourselves the space for self-care (an overused term, but I can’t think of a better one.) I’ve spent days endlessly scrolling my Threads political feed and now, I HAVE TO STOP.
We will resist, of course. But for now, my almost-72 year old body, mind, and eternal spirit are at the Mockingbird Hill Cottage spa/retreat.
You should do the same sort of thing. Trust that things are being dealt with, though I know we have no proof of that. Take care of yourselves. Do what brings you peace and joy. Be around people you love. Or, if you’re an introvert like me, retreat into solitude. (I’m lucky that I can do that and still be around Don.)
This little spot on the internet will remain a safe haven for you.
Much love to you, my friends.
Happy Monday.
