Mockingbird Hill Cottage

I love New England Asters. They pop up in the fall and their vivid colors are so welcome, especially as most of the flowers in the garden beds have died. So far, they have survived three nights in a row of frost. One more to go – tonight – and then the temperatures will get warmer.

I’ve had all the porch plants inside for 2 days now. I know they need watering, so I might move them outside – 2 at a time – to water them. Then back inside as soon as they aren’t dripping any water. Or maybe at the kitchen sink. We’ll see. With the heat on, it’s a lot drier in here than they’re used to. Next week, it will reach 77 degrees for a few days (!!) and the nighttime temps will be in the forties. So my porch plants can live on at least until the end of the month.

Oh my goodness! The Mets!!!!! I watched the game last night all by my lonesome as Don had a gig. The team came roaring back and won 12-6! I was texting Don the whole time with updates on the score. I don’t know how this whole thing will play out but I love this group of guys. They remind me of the Red Sox team that won the World Series in 2004; scrappy, enthusiastic, funny, lots of personality. And they’re genuinely nice people.

Anyway, I was exhausted by the end of the game from all the worried/jubilant energy coursing through my veins. By the time Don arrived home, I was nearly catatonic.

A day off today and back at it on Sunday evening – in Los Angeles.

Raking. On the agenda. Lots and lots of raking to do in those areas where we don’t want too many leaves on the grass. The back forty we leave be. But the driveway and parking area and part of the corral need to be cleaned up. Since the frosts began, the catalpa leaves – which are huge – have been slowly falling to the ground. There are several trees on the property that have lost all their leaves, especially the black walnuts and some maples – stark reminders of winter, which is just around the corner.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

I took this picture the day before the freeze. I wanted to capture the intense color of the limelight hydrangea in case it faded to brown. It will fade eventually, but I was worried the freeze might hasten it.

The temperature did go down to 29 degrees – so when I gathered my courage the next morning to look out the window, I could see that the morning glory had not survived. The day before, there was one fat bud just about to open and I kept saying: Open up! Open up! But it didn’t. The wildflowers are just fine, however, as is the geranium. But that zinnia that was just about to open? No chance.

Don helped me bring in all the porch plants on Wednesday. The next day – yesterday – I moved them back outside mid-morning based on the forecast. Later in the day – around 5:30 – I casually mentioned to Don that maybe I should check the forecast. THERE WAS ANOTHER FREEZE WARNING! What the ??? There we were, hastily bringing everything back inside. So, I’m going to wait a bit today until I get a sense of the forecast. Don has a gig tonight, so he won’t be around to help me.

It’s looking like the Mets are going to lose to the Dodgers. Sob. We watched most of the game last night until it became too painful. I love that team. They are incredibly scrappy and fun and positive and it’s a miracle that they’ve made it this far after going through a terrible first-half of the season.

Don made a pie yesterday, though we’ve yet to sample it. Hey, if you want to see something Don filmed in the late eighties, follow this link. There were a series of Coors commercials centering on a fictional bar – The Silver Bullet – and Don was in one of them. It played during the Super Bowl. Kind of like a neighborhood/Cheers kind of bar. I remember them. He filmed it in 1986. He found it the other day on YouTube. There are certain things that he filmed that I remember seeing at the time they first aired – his recurring role in LA Law, Cheers, Three’s Company, Hill Street Blues, the Silver Bullet commercials – and it’s always fascinating to me that though I had no idea who he was at the time, I would end up marrying him.

Okay. I have to finish this book I’m reading and get it back to the library.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

 

Second – and I fear, last – morning glory.

It makes me so sad; we have a freeze warning tonight. The low will be around 30 or 31 degrees. There’s no way I can cover this vine to protect the leaves and buds. All my outdoor plants will die – just for one night of freezing weather. Though it will remain cold for a few days after tonight, it won’t freeze and next week will be warmer.

The catalpa leaves will fall, as well.

I’ll bring the porch plants inside for the night, because they’re beautiful and full and I can protect them. But I can’t bring the morning glory inside.

Maybe this little guy will open today. There are so many buds on this morning glory, something I haven’t seen for years, and they’ll die overnight.

It’s very frustrating.

This will be short as I’m not feeling well today. Some good news: the technician came and said that the leak is repairable. He has to order a part and will be back in a couple of weeks to install it. I can keep using the washer and wiping up the excess water, as I’ve been doing, in the meantime. Hang in there, washer. And the same to our over 20 year old refrigerator.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.