Spring Comes to Catbird Cottage

Years ago, I began dreaming of a way to transition my photography and styling career so I could be less beholden to the changing industry. I thought, wouldn’t it be wonderful to pull from my husband Jim’s and my expertise from years in hospitality and make use of all the family artifacts and one-of-a-kind pieces I’d collected as a stylist. We could create a space that felt like a curated sanctuary, nestled in nature, and give people dining experiences to remember. As we searched for a home, the idea of hosting people was built in, and when we landed on our humble Cape Cod, we saw its potential and began the work of making our home ready, creating Catbird Cottage. We took the leap and moved into our cottage a few years ago, and ever since, I have relished witnessing seasons arrive, unfold, then make way for the next. This regular observation of nature’s cycles has inevitably deepened my relationship to the foods I eat and the meals I prepare for Catbird Cottage guests.

Spring is the season I anticipate most. When the brown and grey late winter days drag on, I catch myself staring longingly out the window, impatient for productive time once again spent outdoors.

Before moving to the countryside, I certainly enjoyed spring. But since I didn’t have a front row seat, the magnificent shifts of this season, both small and enormous, more or less blended into one. Spring is the season when everything is having sex or giving birth! Living amidst those layers of creation is stunning. Watching—and listening to—all the birds gathering materials for nests, choosing their mates; beholding the very first, most tender, and still-transparent leaves unfolding from maple trees; seeing tight, sculptural buds transforming into floriferous poofs of color everywhere. When I go foraging or tend the garden, I get to witness in real time everything erupting back to life. The verdant transformation of the landscape at large is afoot, and there is nothing more riveting.

Catbird Cottage
Accord, NY; 907-239-7797
Instagram.com/catbirdcottage/