G is for …

...Garden Gate. On the Elephant Rock sojourn, Dearest Sister and I took the opportunity for antique shopping. She is an aficionado of vintage fabric. We both loves us some nice, old hankies. And I was looking for special fixture for my yard. I wanted an old metal fence gate on which to vine sweet peas and morning glories.

After viewing magnificent Elephant Rock, we traveled back to the rustic village we were staying ‘the long way’, in the effort to hit a few more antique stores. We traveled through a smaller and more rural township. There were not many stores there, and fewer open. We drove by a building that hardly looked like a business of any sort, but Dearest Sister’s instincts told us to go back. Her instincts have served us well at times. There we found an older fellow, alone, and just a little scary, watching over an inventory of old tools, hinges, door knobs, and such things one might find in old storage buildings on old farms. We looked up and down the few “aisles”, because, after all, one never knows. There was an old metal gate, but very plain, sort of rusty, and expensive for the type and shape. The proprietor heard Dearest Sister call the gate to my attention, though, and mentioned that maybe he had a couple more ‘in back’. With some apprehension, we followed the older fellow into the storage building behind what we now saw was the ‘main showroom’. He showed me the gates, one of which was exactly what I was looking for, and in good shape. The price tag was handwritten and unclear. When asked, I was told I could have it for a price fully half of anything else I had found. In the meantime, Dearest Sister in looking around said storage building, had stumbled upon a box of feed sack material. When asked about it, we found the fabric was not held in high regard, and the fellow would be glad for her to take it off his hands for a very good price. Obviously he was into metals more than textiles!

I took my extraordinary find home to show Wonderful Guy, knowing how excited he would be.

‘A gate?’
‘Sure! For the backyard, on which flowers will grow and bloom! It will be a stunning display of color all summer! You’ll see. And this is where and how I want it. Sticking out at an angle from the fence.’
‘It's a gate that doesn’t go anywhere.’
‘It doesn’t have to!’

But Wonderful Guy is happy when I am happy. And I am happy with my gate. First year, I planted sweet peas and morning glories. Last year, I had a few volunteer sweet peas and lots of morning glories. This year, I expect more morning glories, and I may plant some thunbergia (black-eyed susan) to climb there, too.

Good memories, good times. (More g's!)