Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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The Woods and the Property Line

September 19, 2019 at 11:04 am by Claudia

This is the view from the edge of our woods – the back of our property. It backs up to that same field that we see when we’re taking our walk.

We walked through our woods yesterday. This little walk was initially taken because we wanted to make sure the raccoons that got in our trash the other day hadn’t scattered it up in the woods. When I discovered the upended trash can the day before yesterday, I immediately looked toward the woods and saw an opened trash bag about halfway up the path, retrieved it, rebagged it, and reflected that this particular visit had been much less messy than the one in the spring. I can only presume the raccoons were spooked by something and ran off. Still, we thought we should check out the rest of the woods.

So, as we made sure there was nothing up there that we needed to bag, we ended up finding our way through a clearing to the edge of the property. Then we had to walk through waist high goldenrod and wildflowers to reach the field. It was gorgeous. Wildflowers everywhere, bees buzzing, butterflies and moths, just plain lovely.

We could see areas of ground where deer have been sleeping. It’s nice to know that they’re safe here. No hunting allowed on any of our neighborhood properties.

We found another path back to our property, this time walking through another neighbor’s wooded property, which borders our property to the south.

We don’t go back there often enough. It’s really beautiful this time of year.

This is one of the very, very old posts that mark the property line at the edge of the woods.  You can see some ancient barbed wire hanging from this one. There are four of them back there, but I’ve not seen them on anywhere else on the property. I assume they date from 1891 (when the house was built.)

All in all, a lovely day. I finished The Woman in the Window   and started in again on I am Pilgrim, by Terry Hayes, a book I had just started a couple of years ago when I was pulled away for something else, most likely a book I had to review. I never got back to it. It’s an excellent mystery/spy thriller. I saw an ad the other day for Hayes’ newest book, which is to be published soon, and I realized I’d better get a move on and finish the one I had on my shelf before the new book comes out.

Errands to run today. I’ve been putting them off but it’s time. Then more reading, I hope.

Happy Thursday.

Filed Under: books, nature 18 Comments

It Sure Feels Like Autumn

September 18, 2019 at 11:25 am by Claudia

I love those rare mornings when you can still see the moon in the sky at 10 am. That’s what we saw this morning. It may not be fall officially, but it sure is around here. The mornings are cool and crisp, leaves are constantly floating to the ground, trees are turning color, and the garden beds are full of leaves and cobwebs.

On this sunny day, it made for a lovely morning walk. It’s going to get warmer this weekend, with temperatures in the mid-eighties. The last hurrah?

I read a lot yesterday and I’m just about to finish The Woman in the Window. I must say, it’s well done, with lots of twists and turns in the plot. It has a Rear Window – type premise, which allows for all sorts of thrills.

Monarchs have started migrating south, but this guy won’t be migrating for a while. We saw him on one of the milkweed plants this morning, chomping away on a leaf. I’ve seen more monarch caterpillars this year than ever before.

I’m missing some of the birds that were here all summer long  – I think robins have already headed south – but I saw a goldfinch drinking from the birdbath yesterday, and a catbird calling from the porch railing. We also saw (and heard) Canada Geese this morning, flying in beautiful formation.

It’s a lovely day today.

Happy Wednesday.

Filed Under: autumn, books, monarch butterfly 18 Comments

Sleep (Or Lack Thereof) and Books

September 17, 2019 at 10:28 am by Claudia

Tuesday in the Hudson Valley. A sunny day, no rain, temps in the seventies.

I can’t complain.

Oh lord, did I have a weird night last night. It was one of those nights where I wasn’t sure if I was sleeping or not. Have you ever had one of those? It seems like you’re in some in-between state; not sleeping and not awake. I do know that I feel very tired this morning, so I can’t have slept all that much. This happens rarely, thank goodness, but its a surreal experience. I finally gave up and got out of bed at 5:30, which threw off Don’s morning rhythm. He’s usually up before me, but this time I trailed him downstairs.

Funny how we have our daily rhythms. Don is up for at least an hour before me, usually, and by the time I get up, he’s read for an hour, had his coffee, and upon hearing me come downstairs, proceeds to make mine. I have my rhythms as well, and you’ll sometimes hear one of us saying to the other, “You realize you’re throwing my rhythm off, don’t you?”  Or, when the day requires an early trip into Manhattan, for example, we’ll comment that the whole day’s rhythm has been thrown off.

That happens to everyone, but maybe even more so as you get older and have more time on your hands. There was a time when my days were incapable of having a rhythm because my schedule changed so much from day to day and I just went with it.

But now I’m older and, boy, do I love the pattern and structure of my days. So does Don.

I happened to glance up yesterday and saw these little dots of light (from the blinds) all over the den. Sort of magical!

I’ve started a new book, The Woman in the Window  by A. J. Finn. It’s a mystery that I’ve had on my shelf for well over a year. So far it’s quite good and I’m intrigued. I finished The Feral Detective  by Jonathan Lethem this morning. It was one of the books I picked up at Oblong Books last week. Excellent read; very modern, post-2016 election (with references to the shock and unreality of that day), edgy, and surreal. It’s a mystery. I liked it very much. It’s also interesting to see That Man referred to in a work of fiction. But then again, he deals in fiction, so I guess it’s appropriate.

I plan to lay low (not enough sleep) and read.

That’s it. That’s my plan for the day.

Happy Tuesday.

Filed Under: books, Don, reading 28 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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