Mockingbird Hill Cottage — Page 596 — Life in our little cottage in the country

Thursday Thoughts

May 9, 2019 at 9:54 am by Claudia

Glorious day yesterday! Sunshine all day long. Sunshine has been nearly nonexistent around here (and will be again for the next week or so). I took advantage of it and worked outside all day long. The temperature was mild, birds were singing all day long, I was potting plants on the porch – I felt content.

Then I went a bit too far and mowed the back forty at the end of the day.

I always take on a bit too much. Don could write a book about me “doing just one more thing.”

But I got a lot done. There’s more to be done today, weeding, laying out the top soil, sowing seeds, and just a tad more mulching.

Tomorrow is going to be a thunderstorm kind of day and I have to take my car in for an oil change. I deliberately scheduled it for a rainy day.

Just a few pictures from around the property. I’ll take some proper pictures of the porch soon, but by the time I was finished, it was late in the day.

As I was dumping debris on the pile near the shed, I saw these lilacs off in the woods. They’re on my neighbor’s property which flows right into ours. Anyway, we’ve lived here almost 14 years and I’ve never seen these before. I walked over there to investigate. They are on a branch that is at the top of an old lilac bush – the only part of the bush that’s blooming.

Amazing!

On that section of the property – just beyond ours, there are the remains of stone foundations in two different areas. I wonder if this was connected to those long ago buildings? There are also the remains of an enclosure for some sort of farm animal.

I wish I had a photo from long ago. It would be fascinating to see who lived there. It’s all overgrown now.

I’m convinced that if I left everything to itself, our property would become completely wild in a few years. Much of gardening is about trying to control something that is, by its nature, uncontrollable.

And just off from our shed – on our property – these lovely daffodils:

So many of them!

These same daffodils are in the big garden bed but for some reason this year, there are no blooms, just leaves. Go figure. There are lots of oddities this year: reliable perennials not emerging, less leaves on the climbing hydrangea, daffodils without blooms…I’m sure it’s due to the bizarre winter we had. I wish I knew more, but as I’ve said before, gardening has a mysterious element to it and you can’t always figure it out.

Happy Thursday.

Is That The Sun?

May 8, 2019 at 9:45 am by Claudia

I had to remove a nearly completed bird’s nest from the hanging plant that is straight ahead in this photo. I heard some chirping yesterday morning and the day before which, when I finally put two and two together, sent me outside to check those plants. Sure enough, there was a nest in one of them. (I’ve only had them for about 5 days!) But I had to remove it because these plants need a lot of watering, which would endanger little babies. I’ll check it again this morning. Sorry, mama and papa bird!

We did a lot outside yesterday, including mowing the entire front lawn, the corral and the area near the shed. We wanted to get it done before the predicted thunderstorms arrived later in the day. Happily, those storms never came. I yanked a lot of weeds and repositioned the stones that make up the borders of all the garden beds. I cut down a sapling that was not in a good place. All this on four hours of sleep! (Patting myself on the back just a bit.) But, when mid-afternoon hit, yours truly collapsed into her blogging chair.

Today, a rarity of late, will be mostly sunny. So I’m going to the nursery to get some top soil, more potting soil, a few more plants, and some more seeds. I’ll soak the morning glory and moonflower seeds overnight, and tomorrow I will sow them.

Forget-me-nots are tenacious little things. They’ve self-seeded all over the place including here, smack dab in the middle of some gravel.

The hostas are growing by leaps and bounds. This is that time of year when a single day makes a difference, when I look at the plants and wonder how they could have grown so much in twenty-four hours. It’s truly amazing.

I’m reading a lovely book by British author Penelope Lively called Life in the Garden. It’s just plain delicious reading. From the book jacket: “reflections on gardening, art, literature, and life.” It’s less than 200 pages long and I recommend it for all you garden and plant lovers.

We watched It Happened One Night last night. It’s truly one of our favorite movies and we never tire of it. Gable and Colbert at their best, a cast of wonderful supporting actors, and Frank Capra guiding the whole thing. I love Capra. I want to live in that world; a world where character matters, where having a strong moral compass is required, and where the bad guys get their comeuppance.

I have yet to answer yesterday’s comments. By mid-afternoon I was so tired and sleep deprived that I just couldn’t do it. But I will now. Thanks for your patience.

Happy Wednesday.

Tulips & Lilacs

May 7, 2019 at 7:46 am by Claudia

Our lone tulip has opened. Such a pretty yellow!

Since it hasn’t bloomed in a couple of years, I was very happy indeed to see it yesterday morning. Some long-ago owner planted this. Perhaps the same owner who planted the peonies down near the road.

I worked my tush off yesterday, battling brambles, mulching garden beds, trimming rose bushes. I was tuckered out at the end of the day. Too bad I woke up at 4 am this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep, which is part of the reason I’m writing this so early. I want to get going outside before thunderstorms roll in during the afternoon and I collapse in my chair.

I’ve done a lot outside, but every time I stop and take a look around I am reminded of how much more there is to do.

As for the day yesterday, it was sunny before I went outside to work, turned cloudy as soon as I started gardening, and the sun did not return until I was done for the day. But whenever it emerged, I was so happy to see some sun! Today? Doubtful, as we have rain coming later in the day.

Almost all the lilac buds have opened. The small bush I bought several years ago has grown and both Don and I were impressed by its size yesterday. I’m so glad I planted it. A cottage in the country – climate permitting – should have a lilac bush. Our neighbors across the street inherited some huge lilac bushes, easily 12 feet tall. One white, one purple. I remember Laura coming over to greet us after we had just moved in. She was carrying lilacs and chocolate chip cookies. We felt then, as we do now, that we had been blessed with good neighbors.

Happy Tuesday.

Thursday Thoughts

Is That The Sun?

Tulips & Lilacs

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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