Content in a Cottage

Saturday, June 12, 2021

TV Recommendation: HAMISH MACBETH on Acorn TV

HAMISH MACBETH: I absolutely LOVE this series filmed in Scotland. It's about an unambitious policeman who is more interested in keeping the peace than following the law. He likes where he lives and doesn't want to be in the limelight too much and get transferred. Each episode has a new "crime" and Hamish solves it always accompanied by his little West Highland Terrier named Jock. The small town is filled with quirky characters such as one named TV Bob. His family was the first to get TV when he was a boy and the nickname stuck. I am watching on Acorn TV but it's also available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and Tubi TV. There are three seasons. It's old but timeless, circa 1995-97. Let me know if you've seen it or like it after you start watching and are hooked. xo

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Friday, June 11, 2021

Lacecap Hydrangea at My Cottage

The first blooms on my lacecap hydrangea are just appearing and the bush is lovelier than ever this year. It's in the perfect location and last year I was careful to cut back all the stems with blooms after they finished because this variety blooms on last year's growth. It looked a little haggard after I pruned it but the new growth filled in rather quickly. I love the almost perfectly round shape of this woody shrub as you will see in the next photo.

I took this photo this morning before I started mowing the way back. As you can see from the sky, it was overcast all day and cool, never above 70°. I finished mowing around 1:30 and 5 minutes later it started to sprinkle rain. I have mastered my John Deere Garden Tractor and I absolutely love it. I'm not afraid of it anymore and it does such a great job. It took an extra day this week to get it all done. The first day it was blazing hot and I ran out of gas before I finished all of the back yard. So yesterday I finished that and quit so the grass in the back meadow could dry out more. Today was such a perfect day and now I'm finished for a while. Have a great weekend. xo

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My Peonies

While scrolling Instagram this week I learned the true botanical name of my white peonies. Introducing Jan van Leeuwen. I picked what's left and have little bouquets all over the house. The hard rains earlier this week were not kind to peonies in full bloom😔

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Thursday, June 10, 2021

1903 Illustration: The Wonderful Baby

THE WONDERFUL BABY

A 1903 illustration from the Crimson Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. Illustrated by H. J. Ford. You could lose yourself looking at all the wonder in this vintage children's fairy tale book illustration, couldn't you? Click to enlarge image.