Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Life in our little cottage in the country

Catalpa Blossoms and a Puzzle

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We had a huge storm yesterday afternoon, which sent some of these blooms down to the ground, but thankfully, there are still lots of flowers on the catalpa tree.

What a wild storm – rain and wind and a crazy intensity. It lasted about 30 minutes.

Here’s Maeve examining a catalpa blossom. She was quite taken by the size of the flowers.

I finished the puzzle:

It’s another Mucha and it’s called Reverie (Dream.)

I have run out of Mucha puzzles as I’ve done all of them, Sigh. So I ordered a Klimt and that should be arriving today.

We are now attempting to live without a microwave. I’ve never cared for the look of them and we were using the smallest and least instrusive one we could find, but it started to rust inside and then it misbehaved and smelled funny and we felt it was no longer safe. We really only use it rewarm coffee and make oatmeal, both of which we can do with Stella, so we added it to our pile of crap that needs to go to the bigger dump in the next town and we are now microwave-free. And we have more counter space, which we love.

I’m headed into the last section of The English Girl. by Daniel Silva. I’m not sure what I’ll read next. I have three books on hold in our library system that are being released this month but it usually takes a while to get them.

After so much groundhog activity last summer – remember all of the babies? – we have seen one groundhog a few times. Once, near the house, and once by the shed. And another time scampering across the back forty. That’s it. Maybe they had enough of life on this property and needed to move elsewhere. We do see bunnies and birds and chipmunks – and deer, of course. I loved those groundhog babies, but wrangling them all day long was a bit of a pain.

Okay.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

Sunsets and Day Lilies

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Yesterday evening’s sunset. I’m not usually outside at that time, but I’m glad I was. I did have to run back inside the house for my phone, though. There is something so magical about a sunset.

It’s been in the mid-eighties the last few days. I guess summer is here (though not officially.) It’s a beautiful morning. I’ve come to the conclusion that my gardens are becoming increasingly wild. Though I try to eliminate the stuff that hasn’t been planted there, i.e., tall weeds that look sort of like the things I’ve planted, but really aren’t, it’s a thankless task. And I have to limit my time out there because of allergies and my hand, which is so much better, but still not quite as strong as it will be eventually. I pruned a lot of overgrown brambles/wild roses yesterday and though I made an effort to use my left hand, sometimes that was next-to-impossible. So, I have to make decisions as to what to be anal about and what to let go.

There’s lots of milkweed again this year. It likes to live in the lower right hand corner of the big garden bed, near the driveway. Occasionally, it pops up elsewhere, but the big garden bed has been its choice for the past few years. I remember when it first appeared in the back forty. I never see it there now. Anyway, the flowers are forming on the milkweed now. And I caught a whiff of scent yesterday, looked up, and realized the catalpa is starting to bloom. First week of June, like clockwork.

These day lilies are always the first of my flowers to bloom. This was taken in the evening, so they look a bit more orange than usual. I happened to be outside yesterday when the guy who works for the county was about to come by and cut down everything near the road. I stopped him and asked him if he could please skip our property, explaining that my crabapple had been cut down a couple of years ago and he said ” I remember that. I did it.” He was very low key, extremely nice, and we had a pleasant encounter which ended with me thanking him for being so nice. I now know when to start looking out for him every spring because the machinery is usually parked down the road from us, so I go on alert.

But that’s another chore to be done, I’ll have to weed whack that area.

Don’s sunburn is still hot and painful but it’s slowly improving.

Okay. I have to vacuum and dust and do some work outside.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

 

Monday Thoughts

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Another Mucha puzzle in progress. It’s rather difficult but I love the challenge.

Don got sunburned on his arms while playing at the Farmer’s Market yesterday. It’s rather painful and we’re using aloe and he has been ordered by yours truly to take it easy today. I am also taking it easy because I did a little too much mowing. But everything is mowed and it looks lovely out there. I need to weed whack but I’ll hold off on that for a couple of days.

We’ve been rewatching Northern Exposure  which – after years of petitions, etc. – is finally available for streaming on Amazon Prime. Oh my goodness, what a deep and mystical series it was, as well as funny, quirky, and heartwarming. I’m enjoying it even more this time around. It’s special to us because it figures in our story. Almost 30 years ago, on our second date, we went out to dinner for Chinese food and came back to my apartment with plans to watch Northern Exposure. It was a Monday, the theater day off. We sat together on the loveseat and, well, we got a little affectionate and didn’t end up seeing the entire episode. So, whatever episode that was, we promise that we’ll  see it this time around.

Yesterday, I had an intense desire to talk to my parents.  I miss them so much. My mom always had the radio on and she tended to listen to what would be called Easy Listening music – that, and standards from the 40s and 50s. Because of that, I know a lot of those pieces very well. Some of the stuff was what we would call ‘elevator music’ but much of it was lush and beautiful and I have a special fondness for it to this day. In fact, even more so as I get older. I miss the days when an instrumental piece could get play on the top 40 pop radio stations, along with The Beatles and The Beach Boys. That just doesn’t happen anymore. Over the years, I have heard certain pieces that take me right back to my mom and her radio and I’ve added them to my play list. Often, when I take a brief nap in the afternoon, I put in my ear buds and play one favorite on repeat. Lately, it’s been Stranger on the Shore  by Acker Bilk. He solos on the clarinet and is accompanied by an orchestra and it’s just beautiful. Oh, how I wished my parents were here, that we were playing a board game in the early evening (like we used to at their home in Northern Michigan) and the radio was on and I could ask my dad what the name of a certain piece was and he would answer Lisbon Antigua by Nelson Riddle and I would think “They know everything  about that era.”

It’s never easy, is it?

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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