Mockingbird Hill Cottage

The humidity and heat continue and we have a heat advisory today and tomorrow. I mowed yesterday morning – did too much, of course – but I was so aware that there will be no break in this weather in the foreseeable future and the grass was long. Today will be a recovery day. I’ll be watering the plants outside, but mostly staying inside in the a/c.

We mistakenly got a package for our next-door neighbors and Don tried to deliver it next door but there was no answer when he knocked. He left it in the mailbox. He called the next day to make sure they had received it. Only then did we learn that their son, who is probably about 24 now, was in an terrible accident on his motorcycle and is in the hospital in Albany and has been there for a month. Don came back from that initial visit saying the grass was overgrown and the house looked deserted and I had noticed it had been quiet over there – they usually get at least one delivery a day. But this is the kind of neighborhood – semi-rural – where you don’t hang out on the sidewalk and catch up with each other (we have no sidewalk.) If you happen to be outside when a neighbor is coming or going, you might have the chance to talk, but usually not. Anyway, we were shocked. He’s such a nice kid. The father is elderly and staying at home and the mom is staying up in Albany with the son who is in ICU. We still don’t know details as to the extent of the injuries, but when we spoke to the father yesterday, he said, “It looks like he may pull through.”

That sentence stopped us in our tracks.

I can’t imagine what they’re going through. We’re praying for Emile and for his family.

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In a bizarre change of topic, I did a story on my Blythe IG. This is how I set it up:

“Whatever can be under that cover? Everyone seems fascinated by it.”

“Wren says it’s a CHAIR!”

“Our first piece of furniture for the house! I wonder who will be the first to sit in it? Lucy? Lily? Wren? Dexter?”

“Well look who snuck in – Ruby! Well done!”

Silly, but I had fun doing it. I can’t get over the difference between 1/6 scale (which this is) and 1/12 scale, which is what is used in all of the dollhouses.

I’d like to get a sofa – or another chair – so I can set up more shots. That would be especially useful in winter, when I can’t get outdoor pics.

This is a Lori Loft dollhouse that I got at Target about 11 or 12 years ago. It’s made of thick cardboard. It had a loft and stairs, but I never fully got into doing something with it. Plus, I got the modern dollhouse, which gave me more possibilities, so this stayed in a corner of the bedroom and I used it for storage. Eventually, when I got into Blythes, I removed the loft and the stairs, thinking it might function as a room box for the girls. I think it will. And I’ll know more about what I want to do with it when I get a sofa and a rug.

Hey, I have to keep busy and creative or I’ll go mad.

Stay safe.

Happy Wednesday.

It’s a gentle rainy morning here and we are happy about that. After an excess of rain throughout the spring and early summer, we’ve been having very hot and humid weather with no rain at all. The culvert has dried up. Phileas has disappeared. We’d love to see him come back, but he sure isn’t coming back if there isn’t any water. He may be hanging out near the pond on our next door neighbor’s property. Let’s hope so.

Mama Catbird is sitting on the nest, though she disappears at times, no doubt getting something to eat.

I saw this first thing this morning:

The first two blooms on one of the Rose of Sharons. If that doesn’t bring a smile to my face, nothing will!

Truthfully, it’s been so hot and humid that we can’t really do anything ourdoors and we feel incredibly lethargic. Our brains are mush. And that is going to be the case throughout this week. So any brief respite – some rain, running outside to take a picture of the blooms – is very welcome.

These mulleins are growing up in the back forty. The one on the right is taller than me and I’m 5’8″! (Used to be 5’9″)

The mullein flowers.

Since I got Nina a year or two ago, I’ve been looking for a proper neck joint for her. She was capable of looking straight out but she couldn’t tilt her head at all. The problem was that the neck joint that came with her was impossible to remove because Dragonfly Blythe (the customizer) had glued it on. I tried and tried to remove it, believe me. I ordered another Obitsu 24 body, and ordered a neck joint from PalmaDolls in Spain. I did all the ‘surgery’ but the neck joint didn’t fit properly and her head was too loose. So I would go back to her original body. I did this off and on for a long time. I’d give up. Then I’d try it again. Still didn’t work. Finally, I contacted Palma and sent her photos of the neck opening and the body and she sent me a slightly wider neck joint. Saturday, I replaced the old joint with the new joint. It was still too loose!! Palma suggested I try cutting up a little strip of an expired credit card and inserting it on both sides of the joint.

Well, I did that yesterday and lo and behold, it worked!

As you can see, Nina is tilting her head. Now she has much more flexibility.

Hurrah!

I have opened up her head and changed out bodies and neck joints so many times that I’m surprised she isn’t suing me for malpractice! Poor kid.

I’m deep into John Connolly’s new book, The Children of Eve.  And, after a long wait in the queue, I finally have Michael Connelly’s newest, Nightshade, as well. So I’m all set for this week.

Stay safe.

Happy Monday.

Photo taken from the glider on the porch.

I heard screeching this morning and stepped outside. From my position on the porch, I saw some big bird of prey in one of the pines across the street. I suspect it was an eagle, but the photos I took just show him in silhouette because it was early morning. I suppose it could have been a hawk, but it sure sounded like an eagle. While I was adjusting my lens, the bird flew away.

After that, I decided to sit on the glider because the humidity had yet to make itself known and I figured I’d take advantage of that. After about 15 minutes or so (I’d already checked on Mama Catbird who was sitting on the nest) I heard a catbird call from the direction of the maple. It was a warning call. (The eagle was long gone at this point.) So I got up and peered into the hydrangea and there was mom, out of the nest, perched on a branch just above the nest, ready to fight off any predator. It was pretty neat to see, but I didn’t want them to stress about me, as I’m definitely not a predator, so I went back inside the house. A few minutes later, I snuck back out there and mom was back on the nest. I guess Papa Catbird thought I was a suspicious visitor, rather like robins do when you walk near their nest.

It’s so humid and hot that my sinuses and allergies are complaining loudly. I don’t know when this pattern is going to break, but it can’t come soon enough. My back is slowly improving, thank goodness.

Yes, they’re everywhere – in front of the house, in the big garden bed, in the little bed by the porch, on the driveway side of the house, and on the far side of the house. Coneflowers are a gift; they reseed everywhere and if you love country gardens as I do, they provide most of the set design from mid-summer until autumn, The black-eyed susans are about ready to bloom, and some of the David phlox has bloomed. The rest of the phlox will bloom later because the nibbling deer delayed things.

Stay safe.

Happy Saturday.