Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Some egg cups that are either too tall or too wide for the cubby. It’s so hard to get a good shot of this, as it’s in the corner of the den right next to the sofa and there’s no way to get a full on shot.

The egg cup gentleman is quite tall. The head is removable and the egg sits where his egg-head normally sits. It’s meant to be part of a set, and the heads are meant to be salt and pepper shakers, but mine has no holes, so go figure! Next to him is a red transferware egg cup. There’s a little egg held by a little clown on the second shelf. I have a feeling it’s not an egg cup, but a toothpick holder, but the clown is holding an egg, so I include it in my collection. The goose egg cup is lovely and it’s from France. Humpty Dumpty is from England. The wooden man and woman egg cups were a gift from a reader of this blog. The eggs are salt and pepper shakers. I bought the glass egg cup just this year because I loved the orange coloring. And the little wooden mama and baby ducks were found a few years back in an antique shop. I really love them. Everything is vintage, including the shelf.

I want to address something today – I want to be clear about the former owner of Ashley and Pliers. He’s a very nice man. We know him. He spent his life with horses, working as a farrier. He raised Ashley and Pliers and loved them dearly. Any neglect was not intentional, rather a result of diminished capacity. – both mental and physical. Horses are expensive. I don’t think he could afford repairs to their paddock. It got very muddy there after rains and the ground was unsafe for these now elderly horses. He did the best he could. But it got out of hand. He was encouraged to surrender the horses more than once, but always declined because he loved them and didn’t want to give them up. Those of us who knew them from walking the trail were concerned. The owner of a boarding facility that bordered the trail was concerned. Winter was coming and there was no way they would survive the cold without adequate shelter. And their wooden shelter was falling apart and far from adequate. To make a long story short, when things finally reached a tipping point with Ashley falling more frequently and both of the horses in danger, the owner knew it was time and was persuaded to surrender them. The boarding facility took them in until the Catskill Animal Sanctuary took over. And when it came time to load them into the horse trailers for their journey to CAS, the owner – as painful as it must have been for him – guided them into the trailer.

It’s a heartbreaking story with a happy ending. They got to live out their lives with food and shelter and a safe environment.

I want to remind you: this same gentleman lost his home to a fire not long after losing his babies. He had nothing – he managed to save his cat, but everything else was gone. He was a longtime resident of our community and many of us contributed to a Go Fund Me appeal to raise money for a new home for him. He now lives in a manufactured home on his property, funded by generous donations. He’s been through a lot.

Changing the subject: I want to point you in the direction of a video. Don brought it to my attention yesterday morning and, I have to say, the ideas discussed here make the most sense of any I have heard on the subject of fixing our broken democracy. You might find it quite compelling. For the first time, I feel there just might be a way to work around the corporate money and corruption that fuels many of the decisions made by Congress. It will make more sense if you watch it. The actress Jennifer Lawrence and the Director of RepresentUs, Josh Silver, narrate. It’s smart. It makes sense.

If you’re so inclined, here’s the link.

Still raining here. But it’s nothing, considering what is facing so many in the Midwest. I’ve watched video of the flooded rivers and towns and farms and my heart breaks for everyone impacted by this deluge.

Happy Friday.