What On Earth?

If you’re an avid recycler, there’s a good chance that you seamlessly slip into the role of being an enthusiastic, creative and handy repurpose–er.

If you fit the profile, you wouldn’t see a pile of old boards, a bucket of rusty oddlings and a snaggle-toothed piece of corrugated tin as junk. Oh no, like Michele and I, you’d envision a birdhouse … or something equally as charming. My farmgirl pal (Michele) and I cahootinized on this camper birdhouse for a project that Hen #1 (MaryJane Butters) is working on. I drafted the design and Michele built it. To elaborate on this theme, come on in and see how an age old question is answered … farmgirl style. The question? … …

“What on earth are you going to do with THAT?”

In recent years, I’ve been asked that question often. It all began when I started to ‘import’ junk (and I use the term affectionately). My favorite husband has been the most frequent enquirer … although husbands of friends have asked the same question. And, my father also. I’m not sure why males I’m related to or acquaited with are so curious … and dubious. As the pile grew and as the variety broadened, raised eyebrows and a confused expression accompanied the statement. Many, Noooo, make that ALL of the skeptical enquirers have stashed treasures of their own. Certifiably valuable and worthy of being archived. For example, My husband is crowding 60 and he’s been a rancher/working cowboy nearly all of his life. The combination of the two related vocations means that his “collection” consists of a few ‘mantiques’ and lots of the following: mechanic things, horsey things, farmy things, tooly things, tire things, rusty things, greasy things, parts of things, livestock things, tractor things, truck things, implement accessory things, spare things, and an assortment of what I will call UFOs (Unbelievably Filthy Objects).

With the above in mind, and after hearing many skeptical inquiries and after enduring as many joking pokes aimed at my artistic eccentricity, one might (that’d be me) answer their questions with this question: “What’s it to ya?” Noooo, not really. My mother spent many years raising polite daughters. Instead, I patiently explain my plans to those who lack vision. In so doing, I discovered the most amazing recipe for skeptic repellant. Tell them allllllllll about your plans. Hold them captive, corner them if you have to and share intricate details in regards to your design blueprints and the general how-to. Pretty soon, you (I) don’t have to answer the skeptics. They later avoid the topic and try to fly under the radar. :o) I digress. I’m pretty much over the annoyance caused by those who questioned my gift for giving junky orphans a new life. So, assuming I’m addressing a much more open-minded audience, let us have a little fun with the theme. Here are a few converts from my cache. An old billing shelf made into a display unit for my antique postcard collection, a grain scoop turned into a sort of sconce, a leaky wash basin turned into a candle holder, and the front of an ancient drawer made into a peg-rack — found feathers tied together hang there (found when riding). A thread spool was used to replace a broken knob way back when. I learned that spool handles were used as a common fix-it knob in the turn of the 20th century era.

Sometimes the most useful things might never have seen the light of day again if they hadn’t been rescued from a future in the landfill. Example: shoulder pads from garments. How many have you thrown away over the years? My mother had the idea of making potholders out of them. So, I did. They are dandies! They already have a bend in the middle and they’re the perfect size. Just cover them with updated cotton fabric and they’re kitcshy-cute!

This next idea is junk related, so hang with me. Have you ever felt disposable … as a person? Like junk, sort of. Add these words too: unvalued, overlooked, cast aside, dismissed, under-appreciated, invalidated, lesser than, invisible, unworthy, untalented and worst of all … unwanted. You won’t have to have lived half a century (+) to experience any or all of these hurtful words. I know the answer to ‘how about you?’ Many of us learned valuable lessons from injurious times in our past. Some of you are in the middle of such times as I write this. I feel for you. Experiencing all of the above can turn out to be a positive. That is the lesson I took from that old ball of saved string. Each encounter ended up making me a finer human being. That isn’t pride. It is a fact. If we fail to turn pain inside out, turning it into a victory, then hurt wins and I lose. And, I’ve always liked winning. Who doesn’t?

One thing I learned from hurt was to see better, see deeper, see through things. I see value in the overlooked, worth in the seemingly unworthy, beauty in the unobvious, and victory in a ‘loser’. Past lessons in the school of hard knocks found their rightful place in my toolbox of coping skills. I don’t just like ‘lesser thans’, I think I’ve arrived at the place where I prefer them. The Bible comes to mind. Many verses allude to an attitude of seeing potential in those viewed as unlikely by some of their peers. I’ve become more familiar with and very fond of the word ‘redeeming’. There is so much meaning in that one little word. Instead of hurtful words (as mentioned above) that conjure sadness, “redeemed” oozes goodness and healing. The meaning of this word covers a lot of ground and it is a reaching, seeking word. To reach out is the nature of the word. It rescues, it fulfills a promise, it recover ownership, it saves from ruin. And, most of us at one time or another in our lives need to recieve or apply the word in meaningful ways. Another facet of the word involves forgiveness. It pays to look beyond an object’s flaws. Sometimes, you have to in order to see the object’s potential. It is an old-fashioned word that we rarely hear anymore. Sad, really, that so many good words have been all but abandoned in our modern era.  Ironic that ‘redeemed’ needs to be rescued?

So, there you have it. The sum of a person’s experiences in life plays a key role in the manner of person they become and what kind of interests they pursue … even the little things … like finding great delight in redeeming junk. I love the role of redeemer. I love the role as a whole … as it pertains to inanimate objects, unwanted pets, all kinds of things that are in dire need of a second chance, and people that need a little encouragement. Encouragement is meat on the bones of the word redeem. When I feel like ‘junk’, a kind word makes me feel like a ruby instead of a rusty old bolt. “My Redeemer Lives” … like in the bible verse. Oft times it arrives on the scene via the caring hands and kind hearts of those who make the word real … and alive.

And, that leads me to the next part of this blog. My farmgirl friends … some of the kindest hearts I know. We have a new addition to our flock! Donna B. is a childhood friend that I recently rediscovered. She’s also new to junkin’, but she caught on in short order. She joined Anita, Michele, and I on our most recent junkin’ safari to the nearby hill country. Donna caught the vision and in just a few short days, she built a container garden extraordinaire – all from recylced materials! I’ll show you photos in the not so distant future. The other “Donna”, Donna R., was our hostess – this is trip #2 to her place. She’s the 4th generation to live out her life on this ranch. Her father was one of my Grandpa’s best friends. The outbuildings on this old ranch are chocked full of her father’s and grandfather’s collected ‘treasures’. One hillside of about five acres is populated with golden oldies that range in age from the 1880s to the 1950s. Ohhhh boy, did we have one heck of a scavenger hunt. We took home {purchased} all kinds of vintage treasures.

We rooted around in the sheds and skittered all over the hillside like playful chipmunks. But, the excursion was also very relaxing. The countryside is beautiful … so different than the nearby plains that I call home. Here you see oak and wrens instead of sagebrush and meadowlarks. Wild plum trees and nuthatches instead of yucca and grouse. Seepy creeks instead of man-made ranch reservoirs.

Once a farmgirl has toted home all of her junky plunder and made a cute pile out of it all, then what? Work. Turning trash into treasure, garbage into gorgeous. Here is a little goodie that I brought home. I saw an idea on Pinterest: an old galvanized rabbit feeder becomes a dandy little planter. I chose Impatiens for shade, but moss roses would look great in a full sun location.

Safe to say that my junky little garden doesn’t rival the legendary hanging gardens of Babylon, but it does bring me much pleasure – it is my sanctuary. The plains are plain and this year it is desperately dry. There is a reason I’ve not shared photos of the beautiful prairie in springtime. It is not pretty. It is scarey dry. So, my garden really does look like a green oasis! Let me show you what I’ve been doing in it since we last visited. Here, I’ll get the gate for ya …

Just a few short weeks ago, my junk looked like, well, JUNK. But, I kept whittling on the pile and finding places for most of the items. The rest is tucked away in a stall in the barn … waiting for a new life in the porch & screened patio that we keep saying we’ll finish “this summer”.

Oh!! See the old highway sign in the photo above (in the shape of a shield)?? A fun idea was born after seeing an antique sign online (below). My old sign is going to go PATRIOTIC. I don’t know where it will live just yet, but that is part of being a junk fancier … you hafta let the junk talk to you about what it might like to be when it grows up.

When I first started to raid … err, I mean explore old homestead and ranch dump sites, I noticed that there were a lot of iron bed frames. They would have still been perfectly functional when they were thrown away which runs contrary that era’s habit of living the cliche ‘use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without’. Whussup with that?, I wondered. I finally got my answer from Donna R. She said that when mass production of ‘nice’ wood furniture became affordable to the average person, seemingly everyone pitched out their out-of-fashion iron bed frames. Horse drawn equipment and a lot of other soon to be obsolete iron relics followed suit. Those are the things that us farmgirls love now … the cream cans, the wooden egg boxes, the wash stompers, the butter churns etc etc. My farmgirl pals and I have made use of every old bed frame we’ve found. Some are in good enough shape to live inside again (and if you have rails to fit), while others live and find work outside in various occupations.

My farmgirl pal, Anita, loves water features in and around her yard. She built a pond and now she’s got her husband sciencing out how to build a fountain from an old poultry waterer, a wash tub and some pipe. The simple version below was abandoned for the ‘new & improved’ version … soon to be unveiled at our upcoming farmgirl get-together at her place next Sunday.

So far, my blog offering has been about old things. But, I do have a new thing to share with you. My ‘best horses in the universe’ (Dolly and Bluebelle) are now 23 years old. Soon, they’ll be looking at retirement. It is good to have two horses if you really do need to ride. One is your back-up. I have my palomino filly, Ribbon, as a young replacement(she’s 5) … and now I own her younger half sister .. and Dolly’s near clone. My dear friend, Linnea, bred this filly. She is so much like Dolly, it is uncanny. She’s even named after her. Apple Pi Dolly Rose (the Original) – and now the sequel, ML Dolly Rose, aka “Apple”. Apple’s mother is a Dolly sister and Apple’s sire (my stallion) is out of a Dolly sister, hence the incredible similarity. Its in her genes! Introducing my new two-year-old steed, ‘AppleDumpling’ :o) Ain’t she a purdy little thing? It will be awhile before she’s “junk broke”. Dolly & Belle and I have carried home many an old piece of enamelware from the ranch — tied on with my saddle strings. We’ve often rattled & banged our way across the range like an old pots & pans salesman of the horsedrawn era :o) Thus far, Apple has worn a saddle a few times … like a little girl wearing her mama’s high heels. She won’t be ridden for real until next spring. Until then, she’ll attend horsey kindergarten. She’s been hobbled, sat on, and will continue her lessons in etiquette and ‘social studies’. My husband will put the first 30 days on her when the time comes. He’s started colts for 40 years.

I’ll leave you today with a preview of what is to come … I hope. Night before last, I found a clutch of Killdeer eggs in a nest of pebbles. Gotta be a once in a lifetime thing (probably). I hope I can get a photo of the chicks too. We’ll see. Those little babies can almost run right out of the egg. The eggs are huge for such a small bird (true to scale below).

Anyway, being a ‘found object’ collector to the core of my being, I’ll at least harvest the broken eggshells to put in one of my collected birdnests. I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, I hope all my farmgirl friends out yonder are having a good summer. What have YOU found recently that tickles you pink?