Little bits o’ nothing (that make life fun)

Monday, May 16, 2011 at 3:39 pm (Cottage Industry, Heavy Clay, Writing by Ear)
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I noticed I haven’t written any “deep” posts for a long time — just little bits of nothing. I’m OK with that. My life lately has been a lot of these little bits, and sometimes that’s a lot better than drama-trauma overload. No soaring highs or belly-flopping lows. Even keel. Steady as she goes. I’ll take it!

So, perfect for the little bits o’ nothing vein, someone in the vast direct marketing universe hit their target (part of it anyway — nailing “interest” if not “income”) and the catalog of my dreams showed up in my mailbox. Addressed to me. Not to “Occupant” or the former owners or, heaven-forbid, Mike.

Everyone out there know MacKenzie-Childs? I’ve known the brand for years, but have only seen bits and pieces here and there in specialty stores.

I was unprepared for the OMGness that is the catalog.

It’s kind of Alice in Wonderland meets cottage garden meets floral chintz extravaganza.

In other words, it’s just for me.

“Oh, I want this!”… “Oh, I NEED this!!”… “OH, I MUST HAVE THIS!” with every turn of the page.

I swooned over the Flower Market Enamelware.

Fit for the finest cakes and scones!

Oh, and this champagne bucket, please. With these glasses.

   

And while I’m at, why not all of these pretties for my kitchen?

And what about this Queenly garden furniture (off with your head if you don’t just love it).

Not fantastical enough? How about this chair instead?

Of course, I’d need this loveseat and end table to complete the ensemble.

   

And maybe the Toulouse Goose to mix things up a bit.

And of course my garden would have to be entered through this gate.

And the birds would have to have proper places to dwell.

And the few bits of mail worth receiving would be delivered here.

So what if exactly none of these things fits my budget?

And Mike would probably move out.

I just admire people who go beyond thinking outside the box to actually living and working outside it.

Sit next to me and let’s discuss the possibilities.

Starting with the fact that the Aurora, NY, farmhouse where the magic gets made is a mere 6 hours away from where I sit.

Getaway weekend, anyone?

Who’s with me?

If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.
~ Katharine Hepburn

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And just like that…

Thursday, May 5, 2011 at 8:27 pm (Writing by Ear)
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…the duck story is over. I was away for several days, during which time Mike dutifully reported “The duck’s still there.” I got home on Tuesday and only just today ventured out for a walk and took a peek at the ducks. All I saw were a few broken shells. It didn’t even look like a nest anymore, just a depression in the mulch.

I was sick about it. Cursing the neighbor’s blasted white crazy-dog Mike had seen tearing through our yard this morning that I was sure had destroyed the nest.

“Stupid nature,” I thought. “Great. Just great.”

I plodded down the road, depressed. A few doors down, I saw my neighbor, and after our brief hello’s (I was in no mood to chat), she asked, “Is the duck still there?” Seems my cross-the-street neighbor had told her about it. I told her what I had just seen and how upset I was at seeing only a few broken shells. She shook her head and said, “She eats them.”

Apparently, once the eggs hatch, mom cleans the nest, including the broken shells. Then, in the dark of night, she leads the little ones away. My neighbor knows because the ducks picked her yard to nest in last year, and she had done some research on them. She got the chance to see a few of the ducklings before mom spirited them away. She went to bed one night and they were there; next morning they were gone. She thinks they go to the creek that runs along the highway that parallels our road, and that it’s the same pair every year…mallards, and also a lone drake that seems to have lost his mate. She’s never seen any of the babies.

So, fingers crossed, my story seems to have a happy ending, but without cute little duckie pictures to share (sorry Mel). I walked along the creek for a bit, hoping to spot something, but it goes a long way and even crosses the road (or else it’s a different creek on that side) and I didn’t see a thing. I’ll keep my eye out this summer.

But, better yet, I have something else to watch out for, even more exciting. My neighbor also talked about there being a pair of owls in the neighborhood — big ones! My sister has an owl in the trees behind her house in Atlanta that we could clearly hear — loud, like a dog almost. I had said how much I’d love to see an owl. Now, maybe, on some moonlit night, I’ll see the owls like my neighbor did. Gliding along without making a sound. How cool that would be!

In the meantime, I have goldfinches to keep in expensive thistle seed and squirrels to chase off the big sunflower seed feeder and a couple giant groundhogs to catch before they destroy my garden. Nature endures. I’m just trying to keep up.

Let us permit nature to have her way.
She understands her business better than we do.
~ Michel de Montaigne

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Easter egg surprise

Monday, April 25, 2011 at 7:43 pm (Writing by Ear)
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I didn’t set out to hunt eggs this Easter, but happily, Mom Nature made it happen anyway.

We are having a very avian spring it seems. First there was the ill-placed and then abandoned nuthatch nest. Then a few days ago, I was in my office and heard a loud “thump” that usually means a bird hit one of the windows. I looked out and saw nothing. Later, I was walking up the driveway after retrieving the mail and there it was — a beautiful red-bellied woodpecker lying dead on the asphalt, just under the living room windows. Not a mark on it, so I imagine its neck was broken. I don’t know how I walked past it on the way down without seeing it, but as I’ve demonstrated numerous times (see snake incident), Ms. Observant I’m not. So sad to see such a pretty bird meet such an untimely death. And sadder still to think there might have been a Mr. or Mrs. or little ones waiting and wondering at home.

Damn.

Fortunately, the circle of life goes on.

It was great to get a reprieve from all the rain and not have a totally washed-out Easter weekend. Mike and I were outside last night doing a little garden clean-up, picking up twigs out front.

Suddenly, something flapped up at me from the first of the small cypress shrubs.

My gosh! A rather large duck!

[This would be a picture of the duck, but my trespassing
and a string of cars scared her away temporarily.]

A tentative peek revealed this surprising sight.

A full dozen ducklings to be!

Mama couldn’t have picked a worse spot — a foot from the road, way too accessible to the neighbor’s annoying (and often loose) dog, barely enough cover from passing cars and walkers, and no large body of water nearby (just a creek and some marshy spots at the log cabin with all the rain).

But seriously. What a camouflage artist. I just went out to check on her. Can you tell there’s a duck in here?

Well there is! See her red eye (from my flash — it’s almost 8:00 p.m. and getting dark).

Here’s a sideways view. I’m sure my flash ruffled her feathers a bit.

I read that duck eggs normally take 24 to 28 days to hatch, and mama only leaves the nest for a short while while incubating. No telling how long she’s been at it already.

I’ll keep good thoughts for her — here’s hoping we’ll need to construct a “Caution — Duck crossing!” sign before too long, and I’ll have some cute pictures to share.

There is nothing in which the birds differ more from man than the way
in which they can build and yet leave a landscape as it was before.
~ Robert Lynd

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