Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 521 — Life in our little cottage in the country

Sunday

January 5, 2020 at 10:26 am by Claudia

I moved my dad’s first attempt at painting in oils to this wall. Just to the right is the entrance to the downstairs bathroom. I like it here. I well remember that red vase which was always on the 3 shelf built-in bookcase in our living room. I think I remember him painting it, but I can’t be sure if that’s a reliable memory. (He made that frame, as well.)

Thank you for your compassionate and kind comments on yesterday’s post. Neither of us could conceive of ignoring an animal in pain, or leaving it on a dark road to be hit again and again by motorists who drive too fast and wouldn’t see it in time. Taking some sort of action is a must. I called the County yesterday to tell them about the body. Unfortunately, I’ve had to include their number in my contact list on my phone. Between last year and this year, I’ve had to call them several times.

I’m very proud of my husband.

Today, we’re just going to hang out at home. I’m going to continue reading Jane Eyre and work on the dollhouse. Don’s practicing his guitar. It’s been a tiring and emotional week for various reasons and we just need to chill.

We’re both hoping that the arrival of Monday will get us back on track. Maybe we’ll finally know what day of the week it is!

By the way, I changed the name of The Cabin to the The Lake House. The inside looks like a cabin but the outside doesn’t. So as Don and I were sitting on the sofa last night talking about the dollhouses, I came up with the new name.

Happy Sunday.

Last Night

January 4, 2020 at 10:51 am by Claudia

No pretty picture today.

Last night I was sitting in my chair in the den – it was about 6:30 pm – and I heard the sound of an animal being hit. In fact, I thought it might be a dog because I heard it cry out. I got up, grabbed a flashlight, told Don about it, and walked outside down to the road. I looked about 30 feet down the road and saw a deer lying there. A car stopped and the woman inside told me it was a deer and that it was still alive and that she would call 911. I returned to the house, told Don what was happening, and he put on some shoes, took the flashlight, and walked down the road to the deer.

I remained in the house for a bit trying to figure out who to call on a Friday evening when every place was closed. It’s impossible. Don stayed with the deer, which was quite young. He used his flashlight to direct traffic around the deer. The deer kept lifting his head, but couldn’t move. So Don crouched down, kept petting him and talking to him, apologizing for what happened to him, all the while trying to figure out how to move him without making his injuries worse. And then he sang to him.

By the time I got back out there, the deer had passed away. I spoke to the deer in much the same manner as Don. Don had me direct traffic as he moved the body off the road.

You know who didn’t care enough to stop and help the deer? The driver. Just as happened a few years ago when a woman hit a fawn in front of our house, stopped to check for damage on her car, and then drove on, even when – as I discovered about 30 minutes later, the fawn was lying there on the side of the road, not more than 10 feet away. Both then and last night, one of us stayed with the deer, speaking quietly, doing everything we could to offer some compassion, waiting for someone to get there and help, only to watch as the deer passed away.

And then there was the deer that was hit right in front of our house only a month ago. Again, the driver didn’t stop.

I know that it gets pitch dark around here and that deer can appear out of nowhere. Sometimes hitting them can’t be helped, careful as one might be. What can be helped is the appalling lack of compassion in the driver who thinks it’s okay to drive away. Even if he/she drives on out of shock, perhaps some frigging compassion might cause him to rethink his decision, stop further on down the road, and turn around.

It’s been a tough year on our little stretch of road. We’ve lived here over 14 years and we’ve never seen it this bad.

Don speaks of that experience with the deer as sacred. Bless him. Bless that innocent young deer who had all too short a life.

Discombobulated

January 3, 2020 at 10:41 am by Claudia

Gone.

That gorgeous Christmas Tree was so dry after having been here for over a month, that it had to come down yesterday. On top of running errands, we added the dismantling of the tree as one of our chores for the day. It took longer than I thought, but eventually, Don carried it out to the woods, propped it up against another tree and thanked it. We both said thank you repeatedly as we were taking down the ornaments. I do have qualms sometimes about trees – living things – being raised only to be chopped down for our temporary use during the holidays. I have to be honest and say that I go back and forth on that one, just as I do on a number of issues.

I missed seeing those lights when I came downstairs this morning. But I do like the clean look of the house.

Does this ever happen to you? You look everywhere to make sure you haven’t missed some decoration that needs to be packed away. You do it more than once, and finally, satisfied that you have corralled all of the Christmas stuff, you pack it away.

The next day, you notice something you missed. In my case, as I was sitting on the sofa having coffee with my husband this morning, I focused on Stella and saw the two bottlebrush trees that are sitting on her shelf. Whoops! I’ll have to find some place to put them until next year.

Did any of you notice that I closed yesterday’s post with “Happy Monday?” Yep. It wasn’t until we were in the car running errands that I realized it was Thursday, not Monday. The first thing I did when we came home was edit the post to the correct day. I swear, it seemed like a Monday! I’m discombobulated.

I’m working on Dove Cottage. I added some missing window sills and a window frame the other day. I’ll do a bit more today. And I’m deep into Jane Eyre, which is beautifully written, isn’t it? I have to finish it, then read the script for the play, then do some work on the dialects – all over the course of the next 4 or 5 days. I’m starting 2020 off with a work commitment and that makes me happy.

Happy Friday.

Sunday

Last Night

Discombobulated

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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