Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Blooming & Painting

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The clematis is blooming and I see buds on the peonies, although they’re aren’t many this year. The truth is, I tend to leave the peonies alone and probably shouldn’t. One of them needs to be moved as it is now in the shade because of the tree that grown in the middle of the bush. I just somehow never get around to it come autumn.

We had thunderstorms yesterday evening and we’ll have more rain tomorrow, but today is lovely. Don swears he saw tiny beaks in the robin’s nest yesterday so I’m going to quietly and carefully investigate. I suspect the wrens have babies, too, but I haven’t heard any cheeps. One of them is in and out of the entrance hole, carrying worms. I was telling Don that once these babies have fledged, I’ll really miss the wrens. Their song has been a constant and I’ve loved watching them. I won’t missed being harassed by the robins, however!

From yesterday:

Just playing with paint. Clearly, I like clouds.

I’m working on a study of the Secret Garden. I don’t have the skill set for minute detail, so it will definitely be my “interpretation” of that space. Wish me luck – I’ll need it.

Stay safe.

Happy Thursday.

The Secret Garden

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We had our morning coffee in the Secret Garden. It may be the loveliest time of the year in this space. Although, when the wild roses bloom, I may take that back.

We can take credit for some things: adding the cinder block edging, clearing out the little area that leads to the crabapple tree, adding stepping stones there and at the entrance to the garden, as well as up the little hill to the back forty, adding the chairs and table, adding vintage pots filled with plants, and, last year, lugging rocks to form a rock garden.

But the wild phlox, the wild mint, the wild roses and mustard, the tiny little flowers called fleabane, all of which fill in the spaces, spring out of gravel and grow between the rocks – they make the space magical.

It’s very natural back there, not at all manicured or precise. I love it so much.

For a long time – many years – after we moved here, the area in back of the kitchen was just a wet space at the bottom of a hill. We ignored it. The change began when I added steps up the little hill and then, one day when Don was away, lugged many heavy old cinder blocks from the woods to this space and created a dividing line between the wild growth and the grass. Suddenly, it was becoming a purposeful space. And then the rest followed. Don put in all the stepping stones. He cleared out some of the undergrowth. He was a bit overzealous and suddenly we had a lot of bare dirt, which made me unhappy. Hence, his atonement; his idea for a rock garden, which ended up being the perfect solution.

I’m having a grateful day. Grateful for this little bit of property that is somewhat wild, for our woods, and our huge expanse of lawn, for our gardens and our flower-filled porch, for our trees, for the wild turkey that walked by the front porch this morning, for the wee groundhog who dined on our grass yesterday, for the birds and the baby birds.

We created much of this on a tiny budget, often for no cost at all, using materials we found on the property.

This place has become my dream-of-decades come true.

I never will take it for granted.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

The DMV and Antiques

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We had a lovely drive to Hudson and the DMV. You cross the Hudson River on my favorite bridge, the Rip Van Winkle bridge. Once we got there, we fed a quarter into the parking meter and joined the lines outside. There were two lines, one for county residents and one for non-residents, like us.

Altogether, we stood outside for about an hour and a half. At one point, I had to go buy something so we could feed more quarters into the meter. I bought a bag of chips which ended up being a godsend on the way home.

Hudson is a charming town with beautiful architecture, and the main drag is lined with antique shops, many of them high-end. I knew that a shop I’d always wanted to visit, The Red Chair on Warren, had relocated from New Hampshire to Hudson about ten years ago. The owner sells a lot of French antiques. I scooted over there (it was just around the corner) and I fell in love. It’s simply beautiful.

I chatted a bit with the owner while I looked around. Since I had limited time, I’m determined to go back again and take my time. But I did spy two café au lait bowls and bought them.

Side note: I saw a display of vintage café au lait bowls on IG that a woman had collected for years and I was so entranced that I saved the photo. A new thing to collect, I thought! The irony here is that I could have purchased a lot of them when I was in Paris, as I saw several each time I was at the flea market. And another visit to Paris is not a possibility for a long while, as we’ve just bought a car. Sigh.

Anyway, I rejoined Don in line, all the while sweating the meter. Right before we were about to go inside to join yet another line, the couple in front of us, who we had been chatting with off and on, overheard us talking about being out of quarters, and one of them went to their car to get us some. And they wouldn’t take a dollar bill in exchange from us. Good people are everywhere.

We encountered one minor snag about the insurance when we got to the window, but the clerk advised me to go to the end of the inside the building line while Don went over to the corner to call our insurance company. Eventually, it was resolved, Don joined me in line, and he got his plates and registration.

We knew we had to get back on the road quickly, whereupon we wolfed down the bag of chips while driving. I dropped Don off at the mechanic’s shop, where they put the license plates on the car, and Don came home with his new car.

We left at 9:30. We got back at 3:00. A long day, but it’s all taken care of now.

Today, we mow.

Stay safe.

Happy Tuesday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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