Saturday, April 26, 2008

Ho Ho Ho The Green Giant was Laughing at Us

Minnesota has lived up to its reputation of being the theater of seasons, all lousy. We traveled to Le Sueur for the flea market and farm equipment show and it rained. We walked from dealer to dealer and it rained. The weather was miserable. I found a huge ship's light sitting on the trailer of a non-attendant seller, while it was raining. I went back 4 times, while it was raining, sleeting, drizzling and raining, he was not there. Finally, when I found him, he had just sold the light to someone else, for $15, and it was still raining. He was having coffee earlier "because no one would be out there in the rain to buy anything". Bahhhhh.


The sellers were set up in the gravel roaded fields. The higher situated roads were bad, the lower roads were swamped and the dirt drainage swales on the sides of each road, that needed to be crossed to reach the goods, were quagmires. Many of the sellers were stocked with tractor parts and all other sorts of heavy metal. Trucks and tractors hauling trailers full of heavy goods over soaked roads mixed the gravel, dirt, and specks of grass into a cake batter consistency. It was a miserably muddy day.

Kris, Mike and I had a wonderful time, but that was in spite of the weather, not because of it. One of the few items that I purchased was an oil painting of sailing ships at dock. (Who else goes to an antique farm equipment show and buys a maritime oil painting?) I also bought a electric charger windmill propeller and the front cowling from a small Allis Chalmers tractor.

We got home, soaked, mud caked, sore and tired. The greatest indignity occurred this morning. I awoke to 4 inches of snow on the ground. Bahhhhh (again). I have had more than enough of the theater of seasons and just want a little Spring.

Mr. Flannery

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Peter-

You were all very brave to go at all given the weather. Too bad you missed the light.

Thank you for the tip on the auctioneer.

Ann G.