A Rare Saturday With No Picking!

For a change of pace this Saturday, we headed to a nearby farm. Our cousin has a lovely spot in Bloomingdale, GA - only 15 minutes from Savannah. Quiet and out "in the country", it was a fun day with lots of animals. See

below photos of all kinds of chickens, geese and  pigeons. There are 2 mini-goats, named Annie and May. They love bread from a local deli and playing chase!

An owl pigeon.

  

A carb fest for Annie.

A Canadian goose a LONG way from home.

Mama Peacock has 2 babies.

This is Snoball and she is a rescue. She says a few words and has a really great personality.

She'll even snuggle while you nap.

We were lucky to bring home souvenirs from our farm adventure - dozens of fresh eggs

and peacock feathers!

I don't speak goat, but maybe May is saying "don't go"?

Peachtree 23 Highway Sale in South Carolina!

This is the 3rd year we have traveled to Lexington, South Carolina for a short highway sale. The Highway Peachtree 23 runs 40 miles from Leesville to Batesburg to Monetta to Ridge Spring to Johnston to Edgefield. The highway is lined with peach orchards, corn fields and pecan groves. You may never have heard of any of these towns, but Edgefield produced 10 South Carolina governors! These small friendly towns with their flag-lined Main Streets are everything you'd like to believe still exists. And what did we find there?

These are photos of the vintage treasures bound for our etsy site. Of course Jeri had to keep this book for her collection of 1950's childrens craft books and a tiny metal horse for her special shelf of all things horse.

 

We LOVED the groovy orange color of this chenille bedspread.

Here's the now-closed cafe where we bought the"Full Buffet Served Daily" sign.

This cool cardboard Barbee house is furnished with a TV, record albums and

a photo of Ken! 

We debated about buying this huge stash of Blue Horse coupons from the

Montag Notebook Paper Co., but since Jeri remembered collecting

them in grade school we couldn't pass them up.

Learning about this little WW II soldier will take some research, but

he is precious and we instantly fell in love with him.

Some fun letters we had to have.

And of course a silly sign from the road. Grilled worms? YUM.

Another Weeks Passes in the Barn Garden

So here it is, a week or so since my corny garden post. Some things are growing nicely...

Tomato plants in a bread box I bought for $2.00 are settling in nicely.

Zinnias showing tiny first sprouts so the seeds will one day be flowers.

Lantana is lush and covered with with bright blooms.

Morning Glory vines starting their fence climb in preparation for flowering.

Sunflowers gaining at least a foot every week.

But then there are the ornamental poppies I planted (below). Two weeks have

passed and zippo signs of life. The package says "seeds will sprout in 8-10 days". Right

climate, right soil and sun, but no growth so far. I will give these containers

another few days to show some action, then go to plan B.

Stay tuned for Plan B in the garden by the barn.



Hopeful Gardening Around the Barn

Is there a more optimistic thing to do than planting a garden from seed? If the birds don't carry away the seeds, the dog will dig up the plants. Too much or too little water. Too much or too little sun. Soil too tired. Too many weeds or bugs or mysterious plant diseases. Even so, this is my hopeful garden and every morning there is some happy surprise waiting. New growth or a bloom or a seedling just peeking up out of the dirt. My hope has already been rewarded.

This lovely profusion of sight and smell is thanks to my neighbor.

His honeysuckle and confederate jasmine (below)

sneak over the fence every year.

Confederate jasmine has a sweet, citrusy smell that doesn't overwhelm.

Here's an updated photo of my $1.00 birdcage trellis.

These are part of the four oclock's I planted from seed. I hope to post another photo of them soon climbing up a trellis. We used to pick four o'clocks in the lane behind our house and string the flowers to make "lei's". If you put them in the freezer they would last longer.

This hydrangea bush is a miracle of nature. The stunning blooms look as if the flowers were misted with blue watercolor paint. It totally dies back in the winter and by April it's green and full and blooming.

This shade from my pecan tree will be greatly appreciated very soon. Sitting under it makes it possible to stay in the yard outside without being drenched in sweat - and it isn't

even summer yet.

These are my hope garden beds as in, I hope they'll grow! The plate border

was an idea from the Salvage Sisters' shop outside of Jacksonville, FL. The above

bed is all morning glories.

These are my giant black-eyed Susan's from seed. I promise to send more

photos along as these plants climb the fence.

You got to love the lily. It is hardy, totally idiot-proof and requires no care.

A very independent plant indeed!

Highway 67 Sale

April means it's time to head over to Hwy. 67 near Statesboro, GA for one of our favorite outdoor sales. Heading out before daylight, we were rewarded with some great vintage treasures!  We hope you'll enjoy seeing them before they make it to the shop. (If
they do!)







We had never purchased a flour sack before and fell in love with the colors
and design.

Sometimes it's fun to sneak away and buy a treat for the other sister. This tiny little piece

made in Japan is for Laura's bird collection. That's a ring inside to show you how small it is!

  This is just one of the lot of can openers and "church keys" we bought. Instant collection!

  They'll look fab in a bowl on a bar.

Four white chenille pillows. Charlie the dog likes them too.

We added an estate sale to our days travels and it was a very worthwhile detour.

Isn't this boy chalkware wall hanger for pot holders sweet? He's an oldie.

Need a cabinet for baseball cards? A cool way to display them. 

This girl scout towel dates itself with the uniforms!

Ah for a more genteel time. This fun stand is a holder for hand towels.

We never fail to get excited when we find another paint by number!

A vanity box for hair clips.

Kitschy bookends from the funky 50's.

A red Aladdin thermos in perfect shape.

Perhaps this beautifully painted kleenex box cover that hangs on the wall

shared the bathroom with the hand towel holder!