Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Trees

May 17, 2021 at 7:40 am by Claudia

I heard a bird chirping this morning; I could tell the sound was coming from the porch. It was still somewhat dark out, but I could see a tiny little thing perched on the railing. As I watched, he flew up to the trailer nest in the maple and went inside. Then he flew back out, and then back in, and so on. Babies? Feeding the female? I’m not sure, but I was greatly heartened to see some activity!

I’m waking up way too early lately and it’s frustrating. I have decided to try to go with the flow (what choice do I have really?) and know that I will eventually get back to my usual patterns. I end up taking a nap during the day, which then throws me off that night. I don’t like to nap, though I used to love it, because I wake up feeling groggy and irritable. So I’m going to try to avoid napping today and see what happens.

Today I’m going to pull some weeds and mulch. And water. In addition to the seeds I’ve planted, we also have grass seed to attend to. It rained a bit yesterday but it looks like we won’t have rain for a couple of weeks, which means I have to water all that grass seed every day, in addition to everything else I water around here. Ah well.

The catalpas have begun to leaf out. I look forward to seeing those big heart-shaped leaves again. Meanwhile, it’s absolutely gorgeous out there! Spring at its finest.

We sat on the glider yesterday, watching a storm roll in. Huge dark clouds, rumbles of thunder, all the while rocking back and forth on the glider.

That’s the stuff of spring and summer.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: bird nest, birds, trees 12 Comments

Mowing, Noble Robin, & Baseball

May 16, 2021 at 9:23 am by Claudia

Mowing was exhausting! Even though we love mowing, we mowed the entire front lawn (both sides), the far side of the house, the secret garden and the grass strip in front of the former corral. We tag-teamed, of course, but still…

About 3 pm, I fell asleep in my chair for an hour.

And this morning, we woke up at 4:30. Things are topsy-turvy here.

Another view of the bridal veil spirea. The blooms don’t last all that long, so I’m enjoying them while I can.

We’re supposed to get thunderstorms this afternoon. I’m hoping that’s the case because I won’t have to water the grass seed. Or the flower seeds.

If you look closely, you’ll see Noble Robin in the catalpa tree. That’s Don’s name for him. He fiercely protects that nest, chirping warnings at us, sometimes swooping over our heads to let us know we are not welcome. I took this when I was smelling the lilacs; he followed me there to see what I was up to and to make sure I wasn’t planning on doing anything nefarious.

We’ve been watching Ken Burns’ documentary, Baseball. Some of it I saw when it first aired. We’re really enjoying it, and learning a great deal, to boot. We also watched a little bit of baseball yesterday, part of a Twins game, and a bit of the Yankees (they are the enemy, since I am a diehard Boston Red Sox fan.) I do like the Mets, though. Anyway, it was fun, and we’re trying to figure out whether we want to fork out for MLB Extra Innings this year so we can watch the Red Sox. The jury is still out on that one.

Okay. I’m tired. I’m going to make some oatmeal to help ground me on this ‘lack of sleep’ day.

Stay safe.

Happy Sunday.

Filed Under: flowers, trees 20 Comments

Blooming

May 15, 2021 at 9:26 am by Claudia

An early morning shot of the bridal veil spirea. It’s in shadow, so I’ll try to take one later in the day after we’ve finished mowing. But, as you can see, it’s laden with blooms this year. Sometimes there are less flowers, but it sure is spectacular this year! Same with the lilacs. I just looked up (via search on this blog) when I planted the lilac bush: May 2008. So it’s taken 13 years for it to get to this point. In gardening, patience is a virtue.

I take no credit for the spirea. It was here when we moved in and I suspect it’s been there for a long time, just as the peonies have. The peonies and the spirea live right at the edge of the culvert down by the road.

Today we mow. We’re so silly – both of us woke up excited at the prospect of mowing. It’s highly satisfying and it’s also good exercise.

The seeds have been sown, all the pots have been filled. The only thing I have yet to do is mulch and I’ll do that on Monday and Tuesday. We’re due for rain tomorrow.

In the meantime, I watched one of the robins fly back and forth to the nest this morning. I haven’t seen the wrens at all lately, so I am, of course, worried that something happened to them, or their babies – if they had them. The female sits on the eggs for 10 – 16 days, so maybe she’s in there? Don’t know. If only I had a camera in that little trailer!

Don is making some eggs to, and I quote, “fortify us for mowing.” Okay! I’m lucky, and I know it, that he likes to cook. Both Meredith and I married guys who do most of the cooking.

Okay my friends, have to go. As soon as we go get the lawn mower from the shed, that robin will go nuts.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: birds, flowers, garden 18 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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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

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