Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Morning Symphony

June 7, 2021 at 9:37 am by Claudia

It took me a while before I realized that these bushes, which bloom at exactly the same time as the wild roses, are not wild roses. It’s easy to look at the mass of white blossoms all over the property and assume they’re all the same thing.

These lovelies are dogwood – silky dogwood – and they grow along the edge of the property right above the Secret Garden. And in the Secret Garden. And also at the back entrance of the property as you walk into the woods from my neighbor’s meadow. They’re what I call ‘frothy.’

I haven’t written about them before and it’s high time I did.

We sat in the Secret Garden this morning, marveling at the natural beauty there. It just is. The only plants that have been brought in are the pots that I plant every year. Everything else is nature’s design. We listened to what I call our morning symphony. Birds singing, the bullfrog croaking, the occasional hum of a bee. Goodness, it’s beautiful there.

But it’s still very hot here. This will be our third day with temperatures in the nineties. There’s a heat advisory today. So we appreciate that time in the garden because all too soon we’ll have to shut everything up and run the a/c. Tomorrow will be a bit better, though it will also bring rain and thunderstorms as this front breaks up

Because of the heat, there’s been constant activity in the birdbath. I’m going to top it off after I finish this post.

Oh, and we had warning chirps again yesterday from the robins. I tried to see if there were any fledglings on the ground, but nothing stood out. Later, Don went outside and heard the same chirping and saw a brown bird fly from the ground in front of the shed onto the low branch of a tree. So mom and dad are still watching out for the babies.

I’m going to paint this morning. I’m not sure what, but I’ll play it by ear. Don’s going to do some recording. He’s writing a new song.

Oh, the catalpas are in bloom. Heaven.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: birds, flowers, life 12 Comments

The Dude and a Special Painting

June 6, 2021 at 9:23 am by Claudia

I was shooting the wild roses that frame the entrance to one of the paths and this happened.

Magic.

We had our second cup of coffee out in the Secret Garden. With all of the wild roses and wild phlox blooming, the birds singing, and the relative quiet on a Sunday morning, we felt very blessed indeed.

Oh, and The Dude:

He hangs out at the end of this little group of stepping stones, directly under the crabapple.

An homage to The Big Lebowski, a movie that Don loves. I love this little guy (he’s very heavy!) and he is the perfect addition to this little area of the Secret Garden. Don found him at our neighbor’s yard sale, which he only happened upon because he was coming back from a morning walk. Fate. And only ten bucks.

I like the idea that he used to live just a few doors down.

Okay. This next painting has stunned me. I can’t believe I painted this, that I got it right. I had an idea to paint one of my Roseville vases. I painted the background a few days ago and let it dry. Then I decided to jump in yesterday and see if I came up with anything remotely like the actual vase. It took a couple of hours, but here it is:

I can’t believe I did it!

I was very relaxed, in a kind of zone, if you will, and this was the end result. I sat with it for a while and then I called upstairs to Don and asked him if he could come downstairs and look at something.

He was stunned. He kept saying “How did you do  that? How did you DO that?”

The answer: “I don’t know.”

I am so proud of this. I mean, I’ve only been dabbing in this for a few weeks and I don’t paint every day. Painting an actual object seemed quite daunting, something I did not have in my skill set. I sketched the flowers on a piece of paper a few days ago, but the actual painting was done freehand, without any guiding lines.

This vase is in the Magnolia pattern, and it’s one of the first vases I purchased. It’s always been a favorite of mine. Now I’m thinking, maybe a series of Roseville paintings?

My friends: I never thought I could draw a straight line, let alone paint something. I knew I was blessed with other talents, but not this kind of thing – not at all. Nevertheless, I kept having this thought about painting over the past two years. An urging. I noted it, but moved on. One day I stopped and considered this strange idea. I believe that kind of consistent urge is guidance from a Higher Power. It just took me a while to acknowledge it, then confide it to Don, and you, and finally, to take action.

I’m not saying I’m the next big artist. Far from it. But, my goodness, I never thought I could paint a vase that actually looked like a vase, one with flowers and texture. Not possible.

I was on a high the rest of the day yesterday and it continues today. I’m so grateful for the prompting that led me to embark on a new adventure.

Is it okay to say “I’m proud of me?”

Because I am.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: china and pottery, life, oil painting, secret garden 77 Comments

Empty Nest

June 5, 2021 at 10:22 am by Claudia

My favorite flower.

This having to use the iPad to write the post is getting to be a pain in the tush. It’s much harder to put in my very long password without some sort of error and then, as happened this morning, getting locked out of my blog for 45 minutes. I finally resorted to using Don’s laptop. Monday, I go to the Apple Store and hopefully, the issue will soon be resolved.

Yesterday morning, as Don and I were getting ready to run errands, including recycling, Don came back in the house to tell me that he wouldn’t be able to recycle because the robins were more aggressive than ever and wouldn’t let him get near the trash can. In fact, they chased him all the way up into the woods. When I went out there, one of them came within inches of my head. We were pretty sure that their hyper-vigilance meant the babies were about to fledge. So we left to do the rest of our errands, and when we got back a couple of hours later, it was quiet. Don was pretty sure they had fledged and, though the adults were still chirping at us, it was much less loud. Perhaps the fledglings were still in the area.

This morning it was quiet and no robins.

We loved having them here, but we’re glad they’re gone. Every time we had to go to the trash cans or the shed, they were flying over our heads, warning us with constant chirps, and we sometimes had to take the indirect route through the woods and back down the path that leads to the side of the shed in order to put trash bags in the can.

Proof:

An empty nest.

God speed little babies. You had devoted parents.

Don just came back with the coolest gnome that he found in our neighbor’s yard sale. I’m not a fan of gnomes as a rule, but this guy is an exception. Don calls him The Dude. Photo tomorrow.

Painting on the docket for today.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: birds, life 12 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.

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

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