“Changing of the Guard” of Seasons

I woke up this morning to a cold, blustery fall day, leaves furiously thrown about by some serious gusts of wind. And it occurred to me that just the other day I praised this wind for so generously gathering the leaves into a neat pile right in front of my garage door.

Then I remembered I never got around to picking up that pile. Whoops …

You’re right … I’m not praising the wind anymore as I now have some unwanted guests taking up residence in my garage!

It reminds me of a line from the classic book, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day:

“I don’t mind the leaves that are leaving; it’s the leaves that are coming.” – Piglet

Sometimes, despite our efforts to stay on top of the leaf situation before winter arrives (and I don’t mean jumping on top of the leaf pile!), the leaves seem to be winning!

And so it goes … this inevitable and somewhat futile exercise leading to the “changing of the guard” of seasons.

Here at the Trading Place, those strong winds seem to usher in our “changing of the guard” of seasons as well. For us, it means the flea market comes to an end (tomorrow and Wednesday are the last days) and we switch gears to some exciting, upcoming events occurring soon for the holidays.

This Saturday will be an Antiques & Collectibles Show held in the Miscellaneous/Antique Auction Barn from 9 am to 5 pm. And next week, we will hold an Antique Specialty Auction, with better quality items, sold in conjunction with our regular Misc. & Antique Auction. We will also host the “Evening at the Gallery” Open House, Nov. 9, at the Antique Gallery, 6 to 8 pm, a fun night with lots of snacks, discounts and door prizes. All are great events to attend to get a jump-start on your Christmas shopping.

So take a break from the yard work and come on out and enjoy yourselves … because it can grow tiresome trying to fight those leaves!

Pumpkin Pots and Magnificent Mums!

I don’t know about you, but I really don’t like the cold.

But since that’s the only downside of enjoying an otherwise beautiful autumn Saturday, I zipped up my long coat and made a trip to Shipshewana.

I had a very pleasant drive catching glimpses of bright orange and yellow leaves that seemed to be screaming for my attention.

But when I turned on State Road 5, I was reminded by the bumper-to-bumper traffic going into Shipshewana why I had come in the first place:

Shipshewana Fall Crafter’s Fair!

I headed to our Trading Place Pavilion to see a sampling of the Crafter’s Fair, happy to see that a lot of brave souls had left their cozy homes in 46-degree weather in search of great deals and interesting finds.

As I strolled through the pavilion, I couldn’t help but notice the last chance offerings of the Farmer’s Market vendors on their final day of the season — lots of plump pumpkins and magnificent mums, and even a few pumpkins serving as pots for the mums. Nice!

A Dulcimer group played in the background as I chatted briefly with a vendor selling some pretty amazing paintings and prints. I chuckled when I passed a booth with colorful dog carriers fashioned into cute outfits — just one of those unique items you would be hard-pressed to find in a store!

I stopped to compliment a lady selling the beautifully artistic stepping-stones while she tried to stay warm in her winter garb. She shared her inspiration and ideas for creating her stepping-stones, and as we talked I learned that she and I have a lot in common … though my artistic bent doesn’t include carefully embellished concrete benches! And who knew you could make a bird feeder out of an old car tire?

Just talking with her made my entire trip even more worthwhile. I had planned to travel further to downtown to experience the sights, smells and sounds of Fall Crafter’s fair there but couldn’t get past this 30-minute conversation that once again reminded me why Shipshewana is a great place to visit and shop:

Friendly strangers somehow don’t seem like strangers anymore.

An interesting morning at the antique auction …

About 9:30 this morning I took some time to stroll through the Miscellaneous/Antique Auction Barn to check out the sale. It’s hard to know what the auction is like unless you experience it for yourself.

Here’s what I experienced:

If you’re going to see anything,  you have to push your way through the crowd like a salmon going upstream, even if you work here!

 

 

If you can’t see the auctioneers you can definitely hear them — all 8 to 10 of them. Just follow their competing echoes.

 

 

 

If you’re wanting some quality parent/child time, the Antique auction can be a fascinating place to bond.

If you’re looking for a unique antique, you’ll probably find it here. Check out these interesting giraffes and the dog seemingly guarding an old Victrola!

If you’re looking for some interesting fall decor, you can find that too. These bright metal pumpkins caught my eye.

 

 

 

And if you’re really pooped after taking it all in, you can always just sit back and relax in a dependable radio flyer wagon.

But don’t take my word for it … come see for yourself!

Happy people and four-legged passengers

Two weeks ago I left the office just before 8 a.m. for the opportunity to soak up some brilliant morning sun.

No, I wasn’t lounging on a lawn chair with a good book and a glass of iced tea (although that sounds pretty nice!)

I was standing on pavement at the Shipshewana Flea Market main entrance with a handful of parking tickets and a bottle of water.

But that’s OK. Between the constant stream of happy people and the four-legged passengers eagerly sticking their heads out the windows to greet me (Yes, we DO allow pets that are leashed ), I was mostly having a good time.

A few times it was a bit challenging, like when I covered two lines of cars, answered questions and tried to coordinate a golf cart ride for a couple of ladies who needed transportation back to their car (Yes, we provide that, too!) all at the same time. Whew!

The time passed quickly, though, and before I knew it my experience as a parking attendant had come to an end and it was back to the office for me.

It’s good to step in someone else’s shoes once in a while, and I’m glad I had the opportunity to fill in and meet the good people who come out to enjoy the flea market!

We stopped collecting for parking the day after Labor Day, so if you come now until the end of the season (October 31), you can enjoy free parking and hopefully cooler weather.  And with fall approaching, the flea market is an ideal place to pick up some apples, mums and fall décor.

Hope to see you soon!