Tis The Season For A Few Scarecrows.....

The old town area puts up scarecrows every year at this time. Merchants are encouraged to participate in a scarecrow contest.  I walked around Sunday morning and snapped away. To my surprise I met my heartthrob just hangin' around downtown........

 Actually,there were a lot of men just hangin' around.

These next two pics are the display the eclectic decor shop put out.

 The Doll Shoppe added this lady.

You can see the Doll Hospital Ambulance in the background.

Doesn't she look like someone you know from the back?

Ok, I'm  going to say it.......We ARE in Kansas, Dorothy!

I am joining Chari for

Some Antiquing and Flea Market Time

Country Living Magazine said, "Tiny Sparks, Kansas — population 9! — hosts crowds of up to 75,000 twice each summer, with 450 dealers displaying a range of antiques and collectibles at great prices. "


Coming to Sparks on  Labor Day weekend has become a fun tradition in the last few years. Saturday was a beautiful day, high in the 80's and sunny. Several of us went to the Sparks Antique and Flea Market and then up the highway to the White Cloud Flea Market. These little towns are northwest of St. Joseph, Missouri, in Kansas.

As it got crowded, many began standing on tip toes to see.

This little bottle fed goat was a pet of one of the vendors. He got lots of attention!

Then I started getting hungry......

As we got back on the highway, the trail of parked cars had grown.

That's a soybean field behind the cars, and running along those hills in the background is the Missouri River.

 White Cloud sits on the banks of the Missouri River. Long before the white men came to the area, the land belonged to the Ioway tribe, whose chief was White Cloud. Entry to the river is right at the base of Main Street. White Cloud's flea market was all on the main drag.     

Weston 10 Mile Trail Antique and Garden Show

The first weekend of August, Weston, Missouri hosts a 10 mile trail around historic Weston, with 4 stops to shop, eat and drink. What a deal! You drive your own car to each location and stay as long as you want. Weston is a beautiful area of rolling hills, lush farmland, orchards, and tobacco fields. It is the world's leading producer of twist tobacco. William Buffalo Bill Cody was at one time a resident of Weston, and the town was a major "jumping off" point for the Santa Fe Trail, the Oregon Trail and the California Gold Rush.

Gourds for painting and bird houses.

And here is the gourd "house" made with cattle panels bent into arches. It was shady and cool inside.

Inside the Red Barn:

Oh Yum! Black Walnut syrup on ice cream and pancakes!

Lots of old insulators

American feed sacks, NOT French!

The antique dealers set up in the back of the barn.Then we walked around the rest of the farm.

LaMancha goats are  a medium sized breed of milking goat, known for their apparent lack of floppy ears.


The next stop was an interior design shop.

Cigar pics in tobacco country.

And lastly, the statuary store housed in the old grain elevators.

It's About Time for Picnic Tables!!

As summer approaches, it is time to drag (literally) out the picnic table. Picnic tables have almost become a thing of the past, due to patios and patio tables, much more comfortable on the back. But I am nostalgic about picnic tables.


Years ago,when we bought our second house, we had started our small family of two tiny girls. With a huge back yard and an equally huge tree, I wanted a picnic table. We had a screened porch for furniture, no patio, so a picnic table seemed perfect. Excitedly, we got a kit from the big box store, and brought it home to put together. It went together without incident, but the wood was soooo green it still leaked sticky sap. We couldn't use it for awhile, but eventually we were able to, and for the girls it became a stage, a covered wagon, a hiding place, and who knows what else. The girls preferred to eat their little lunches on summer days with  a blanket on the grass, or take lunch boxes up to their tree house. So the picnic table sat. In later years I stored the picnic table in the shed. It was a pain to move each time we mowed.


A few years ago I got out the old table and slapped some white paint on it. Every summer I drag it out of the shed now, and position it under the big old tree where the tree house used to be. We still don't use it much, but I love to look out and see it there.

But I didn't get it dragged back into the shed this winter, and it looked pretty sad.

Here are a few other picnic tables. Don't they make you want one?

Wow! She IS the picnic table!

I'll take this one on the beach!

Oops! All I ever get are squirrels at my picnic table!

Can't wait to do a few tablescapes on the old picnic table this summer! See you then!

I am joining THE TABLESCAPER for