Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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Hydrangeas

August 26, 2024 at 8:12 am by Claudia

The limelight hydrangeas are starting to turn pink, a sure sign of impending autumn.

I was outside on Sunday with my telephoto lens, trying to capture a photo of the goldfinch who was munching on coneflower seeds. This little one was tenacious! He/She would perch on the top of a stem, or on top of the flower itself, and yank those seeds out. But only on the older coneflowers that were fading, not on the others. I’m going to keep an eye out today to see if the goldfinch returns. He was here both Saturday and Sunday.

I was up early today because Don had to get on the road early, so I heard the Carolina wrens peeping as they woke up. It’s fairly quiet on our busy road when it’s just turning light, so there’s an intimacy to that sound, as if the bird and I are the only ones aware of it. And I think we were.

Another foggy morning today, foggier than yesterday morning.

As the election heats up, I may be encountering more negative comments, like the 3 I had over the weekend. If I feel they are inappropriate, I will delete them and block the commenter. Not because that person is disagreeing with me, but because the comment is ill intentioned, and in one case this weekend, full of falsehoods about what I said in Saturday’s post. There’s no reasoning with that.

Anyway, not to belabor this sort of thing – because we’ve seen it before – but I’m going to turn on comment moderation. That means that you won’t see your comment right away. It will come to me for moderation. Since I usually monitor the blog during the day, your comments should be approved quickly. I just wanted to give you a heads up so you won’t think there’s something wrong with the blog and/or your comment. Okay?

I’m close to the end of my first John Sandford book and I’ve really enjoyed it. Suddenly, I have seven books from the library here at the house; two of them Don is reading, and the other five are in a pile next to my chair. I love a good thriller/mystery/spy novel.

I hope you had a good weekend!

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Filed Under: birds, blog, flowers 28 Comments

Saturday

August 24, 2024 at 9:14 am by Claudia

A foggy morning. The mornings are so much cooler now. It’s going to be in the low 80s today, so the daytime temps are rising, but I sure do sense a little bit of autumn in the air.

Yesterday, I had to run to the library to return a book and pick up two that I had reserved. Don offered to drive me, as the library was closing within about 15 minutes. On the way back home, I thought I spotted a banner for the Convicted Felon on a neighbor’s house. I thought I was seeing things. This is a neighbor about 6 houses down from us, someone we’ve chatted with on walks. When I told Don, we decided to turn around in our driveway, and drive back there to see if I was right. Of course, I was hoping I was wrong. Nope. A huge cloth banner hanging from the railing of the stoop on the side of their house, with “Take back America” and his name. They deliberately put it there because they are on a corner and the road there dead ends at a very public and well known campground which gets a lot of visitors.

I was stunned. I guess I shouldn’t be, but these people seemed like anything but fans of the Convicted Felon. It’s such a disappointment, isn’t it? It’s not like they are billionaires. They own a modest home and a nice chunk of property. So…they are okay with supporting a convicted felon, liar, rapist, and racist.

Good to know.

I know we’ve all experienced something like this in the past 8 years. I was pretty sure nothing would shock me at this point, but this one did.

We’re taking it easy today. Lots of reading, maybe a little weeding, laundry, etc. I’m reading some books by John Sandford, and Greg Hurwitz, both authors I’ve heard of but never read. They’re quite good.

The garden is still looking beautiful.

Maybe I’ll sit on the porch for a while. But first, we’re going to take a little walk at the library.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.

 

Filed Under: life 41 Comments

Wow!

August 23, 2024 at 8:27 am by Claudia

Thought you might want to check on on The Dude.

As expected, he’s cool.

The DNC was the best convention I have ever seen. Beyond ‘best.’  In the past, I never watched the entire broadcast from start to finish. I would check in and out, or tune in for the final speech of the night. This time, I didn’t want to miss anything. And I’m happy to say I didn’t. One powerful speaker after another – our bench is really deep – one moment laughing, the next crying. I could try to highlight certain moments, but frankly, there are way too many! (And I have ‘stayed-up-too-late-too-many-nights-in-a-row’ brain.)

Tim Walz. What an extraordinary man. And his son Gus shouting “That’s my dad! That’s my dad!” Pure, unbridled love for his father.

All of it culminating in the best acceptance speech I have ever heard. Kamala knocked it out of the park…out of the universe!

So glad we watched it on C-Span. We got to hear the house band, and watch the dance breaks with the delegates dancing along with the music. No pundits explaining something I just witnessed. Just the pure, unfiltered experience.

I’m feeling so hopeful this morning. I’ve never been a big flag waver. And then the ‘other side’ coopted it when they claimed to be “patriots.” We have taken it back, thank goodness.

Oh gosh, my thoughts are a jumble this morning. Thank you to the DNC for a masterful and joyful convention.

It’s been a week of late nights, lots of mowing, lots of reading, and lots of naps. Oh, and lots of good weather!

More tomorrow.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.

 

Filed Under: life 26 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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