Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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A Saturday Surprise

October 12, 2024 at 8:40 am by Claudia

I sat in my chair this morning for a long time, reading a book and drinking coffee. After it became light, I eventually walked into the living room to raise the blinds. Then to the kitchen to raise another blind. I stopped at the window in the side door to look out at the property. And this is what I saw:

A morning glory! After Don heard me say “Oh my god!” a couple of times, he came to join me. He said “There’s your blog post.”

Yep.

There are lots and lots of flower buds developing and we’re trying to outrun a possible freeze next Thursday. So in the meantime, I hope lots of flowers open. I’ll take a photo of every one of them. I used to routinely see a lot of morning glories, but for the past several years, I’ve just had the vines and no flowers. No flower buds at all. So this is a little miracle. I’d almost given up. This year, I talked myself into sowing the seeds at the last minute.

And it’s our 26th wedding anniversary today.

An anniversary flower better than any bouquet.

Happy Anniversary to us!

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

Filed Under: anniversary, flowers, morning glory 22 Comments

Making a List

October 11, 2024 at 9:16 am by Claudia

We’re having some money worries at the moment with our washer/dryer and Don’s car. So I did something I should do more often, especially when faced with worry. I quickly wrote a gratitude list this morning.

  1. Mere and her family are safe. We kept in contact all day Wednesday and into the evening when Hurricane Milton hit. Lots of very high winds and tons of rain. But miraculously, they didn’t lose power. Lots of tree branches down but the trees remained standing. Very, very grateful. Wednesday was a tense day.
  2. We watched the Mets win the NLDS in the midst of all the hurricane worry. What a great game!
  3. There is a new leaf emerging on my Monstera, even though I thought that process had ended for this year. Grateful for that surprise.
  4. It was 34 degrees this morning and the heat came on. Last year, it kept coming on and shutting off immediately and we had to get it repaired. Sigh of relief.
  5. I’m getting the urge to work on the Beacon Hill. In keeping with that urge, I cleaned Don’s mini studio yesterday, It was very, very dusty and I had to repair a few things. Grateful that I might feel enthused enough to get back to my miniature work.
  6. I have plenty of books to read.
  7. I love and am loved.

Just a quick dose of gratitude and it helps so much. We’re doing our best to wait for guidance.

I am frustrated because morning glory flower buds have finally  emerged on my vine and I think the cold will knock them out. Fingers crossed that they hang in there. We haven’t had a hard freeze, so maybe they’ll open.

Don has a gig tonight. We missed the Northern Lights again. Had no idea! So, again fingers crossed, I’ll try to see them tonight.

As I slogged through the day of the hurricane, watching Mere’s local news on YouTube, I redressed a couple of the dolls. I find that soothing.

Here’s Holly, looking quite beautiful:

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Filed Under: life 30 Comments

Waiting

October 9, 2024 at 7:25 am by Claudia

Yesterday, around 10 am, there were tons of birds near and around our birdbath. Sparrows, probably about 40 of them, at least two Northern Flickers, some bluejays, and Northern Mockingbirds. They were everywhere, often sharing space on the rim of the birdbath, bathing, drinking, on the ground eating. It was amazing.

Clearly, they were migrating and decided – seemingly en masse – to visit this particular rest stop. It was extraordinary half hour or so. And then, in a second, they were gone. How fortunate we were to witness this. It took me a while to grab the camera so I missed out on some great shots.

Northern Flicker.

Northern Flicker and two Northern Mockingbirds (appropriate, don’t you think?)

And a local.

I’m going to keep this brief as I can’t really think of anything but Hurricane Milton, my sister and her family, and everyone in its path. This is terrifying.

Prayers for everyone in its path.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: birds 21 Comments

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Welcome!

Welcome!

I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating, I love gardening. My decorating style is eclectic; full of vintage and a bit of whimsy.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

Thanks for stopping by.

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The Dogs

The Dogs

Scout & Riley. Riley left us in 2012. Scout left us in February 2016. Dearest babies. Dearest friends.

Winston - Our first dog. We miss you, sweetheart.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

Thanks for visiting! Feel free to browse, read and enjoy. All content is my own; including photos and text. Please do not use anything on this site without permission.

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