Retirement Home for Horses

We were picking in High Springs, FL when Jeri read in a local magazine that there was a horse sanctuary in nearby Alachua. Fascinated by the idea of a retirment home for horses, Jeri did her best to locate Mill Creek Farm on County Road 235A, but we found it anyway! Cost of admission? Carrots. Seriously, carrots.

This big beautiful blonde was a draft horse.

Horse whispering?

These animals have been neglected or abused or unwanted. They spend their last years on 600 acres of tree-lined pastures. No more work or suffering - just love, good care and lots of carrots. The blind ones were amazing and they came to the fence for treats just like the others!  It was hard to tell whether the horses or the visitors enjoyed themselves more.

We are so sorry we will miss the 4th Annual Spring Sale at Mill Creek Farm on March 24th from
10:00AM - 3:00PM. If you need more info about the sale go to www.millcreekfarm.org. I hope to someday adopt a horse!

A Florida Trip for the Picking Sisters

We both took a Friday off of work and headed to the Gainesville, FL area for a weekend of picking. No big sales this time, just local garage sales and flea markets. Armed with maps, a Garmin, 2 iphones and a Samsung tablet we plotted our route with Craigslist sales and local newspapers. Jeri STILL managed to get us lost. So much for all the new map features - she looked like a air traffic controller with a lap full of devices and screens. And STILL couldn't tell north from west. 

The other Picking Sister says I should show more treasures on these posts, so here are some of our favorites from this weekend. Of course there will be a funky signs and sights along the way...

These squeaky clean party games from the 1950's are hysterical!

 The original drink charms for your parties.

Jeri loved these teeny tiny rollers - only 2" long.

Two of our favorites - dogs AND paint by number!

Emmett Kelly was from Savannah so we were thrilled to find this paint by number.



This refrigerator magnet is one of a set of 3 we bought at Salvage Sisters.





Anyone need a plate?



Couldn't resist a trip to the Salvage Sisters; one of our favorite spots to wander and shop.

These gals are in Yulee, FL.

 





A collection of swizzle sticks from hotels in Miami, FL and Kansas City, MO.


 













One of the most amazing places we have ever been is the Horse Retirement Sanctuary we discovered in Alachua. It deserves its own post, so I will add it tonight. Watch our etsy.com site
etsy.com/shop/mysistersbarn  for the other treasures we picked in Florida!





Back on the Picking Highway!

This is the first post since November because local picking has been slim. We are tickled to see warm weather because that means more highway sales and festivals! The Peaches to Beaches sale runs from Fort Valley, GA (peach country) to Brunswick, GA on the coast. Nice folks, good prices and the laughs pick right up where we left off in 2011. Hope you'll enjoy seeing our new treasures!

This sale is big news along the highway.

A lovely sign right in the middle of a sale in Baxley.

Jeri has to stop and read every sign...

Always time to pet the critters like this piggie named Charlotte.

Believe it or not his name is AFFLAC!

Why not pull the tractor up in the yard? You never know what folks are looking for.

If you think the sign was rundown check out the "estate".

This home was packed with antiques. It must have been exquisite in its day.

 AND NOW THE BEST PART, THE PICKINGS!

A $1.00 birdcage with no bottom made a perfect trellis!

How fabulous is this paint by number of Paris?

We remembered having this cup and saucer at our house in the 1950's.

We can't seem to get enough old signs.

A pristine sandwich plate for ladies who played cards...

Anything turquoise and plastic grabs us!

A milk glass Kit Carson mug by Hazel Atlas.

A cool harmonica made in Germany. 

Of course we kept a few treasures for ourselves - a $1.00 table with a stained glass top, an old metal iron horse for Jeri's collection of everything horse, a vintage metal cookbook holder, a blue plaster bird with wire legs and a grand table with  peeling paint red that was originally used to help a gardener stand after kneeling.

The pick of the pickings was a Hubley Bathing Beauties Cast Iron Door Stop.

All in all a wonderful day and we are off to Gainesville

and Micanopy, FL next weekend. Our etsy shop will be

full again very soon!