Jaci Dawn

I talked my husband into going to the Garden Palooza over in Aurora. It is, apparently, an annual event that has never been on our radar before. It would have been a lot more fun if Spring hadn’t notched it up weather-wise today, but that’s the hazard of living here in, say, April. Or almost any month except August and September. It down-poured, it hailed, it sprinkled, and the sun came out briefly before it started all over again.

The parking lot was a muddy mess. The greenhouses, covered awnings and buildings where the 40+ vendors had their wares displayed were crowded with no elbow room. Umbrellas were opened and closed. Hoods went up and down. Foot traffic stalled, backed up, milled around, and was generally difficult to navigate. We saw a lot of plants we’d love to add to our garden, but the thought of trying to carry them around while still shopping gave us second thoughts. There was a Will Call Plant Pick-Up area, but one look at the stream of cars trying to get through the lane was enough to give us pause. So we collected business cards and made mental notes of what plants we want to add and what local nursery sells them. And we left without buying anything – but we will be checking out at least one garden art gallery in the near future: Garden Gallery Iron Works.

On the way home, we stopped at an Estate Sale. I think they had exactly 20 items left. It’s a bad sign when you walk up to an Estate Sale and the people leaving are going out empty-handed. Even for their lack of items, they were unwilling to dicker on the price of items, so I left one find behind – because, really, if you want to sell it, you’ll dicker with the price.

I found this charming wishing well in the shop out back for $2. It’s a nice, solid construction and I just need to decide where in my garden it will go.

This was one of the items I attempted to dicker on. It was only $2 to start with, so I took it at $2. The other item was $5, and I wasn’t paying that much for it. (Harvey had to check out the dead bug smell.)

My two bucks paid for cobwebs and a couple dead flies, but who’s complaining? I’ll hang it out by the doorbell and one of my spiders will take up residence. (Harvey liked this item. Smelled good?)

Well, that was a bust. And the rain was making any thought of working in the yard unappealing. So, I did what I do every Saturday: I went grocery shopping. Ho-hum. I had two stops to make (plus gas for my car), but I decided to toss in Goodwill, too. For one thing, it’s right next door to BiMart. If you don’t have a BiMart, I’m sorry. For a minimal expense, you can have a life-time membership and they sell just about everything that an old-fashioned general store might, plus a nice selection of electronics. I often find things here that Home Depot doesn’t have or for less money than the local Kroger. The downside: BiMart is small and they don’t carry everything.

Anyway, I digress. I walked across the parking lot to Goodwill in search of a glass plate to put on the Faerie House I just finished.

I wanted a see-through plate to top it off and I found one – and only one! – at Goodwill for $2.

But I also found two more items that totaled $12 between them.

This bird house is just adorable! The awning is broken off of it (the red-and-white striped piece of wood), but it’s easily fixed.

I just like this photo. The house doesn’t really slant like that or Harvey would slide down the floor and out the door.

He’s not sure he likes the bird house.

“Really Mom? Because birds would go for a hamburger diner?” He’s such a critic!

It isn’t for me, anyway. I just found out that a friend collects bird houses like this and I think she’d love this one.

This was the greatest find. The sales clerk called it a rabbit, but I say it’s a hare. Look at those long ears!

Is that not cool? It’s ceramic. It needs a paint job. It’s going to become a black-tail jack rabbit, I think.

I thought about making it a snowshoe hare, but it’s feet aren’t quite big enough or furry enough and we have snowshoe hares in the Cascades.

We have white-tailed jack rabbits in the Willamette Valley, but they’re pretty elusive.

I really miss black-tailed jack rabbits. They’re the most common hare of the western states, and the one I grew up with in Nevada.

Harvey isn’t sure what he thinks.

He’s gone to sleep to dream of Pookas shaped like hares and named Harvey.