What a Texas-Size Yard Sale Looks Like

There are several ways folks in Texas sell their unwanted, unused household clutter. Craig's List may do for some items, and newspaper ads may work for furniture and appliances, but the majority of folks prefer to set out some tables in their driveways or yards and put up a few signs around the neighborhoods and have a yard sale. The best days for yard sales (or garage sales, if the goods are actually inside the garage rather than in the driveway) are Fridays and Saturdays.

Rosanky, Texas, a small community about an hour southeast of Austin, holds a community-wide yard sale a couple of times during the year. Everyone who wants to participate pays $10 for a spot in a field at the intersection of two busy farm roads. Sometimes, there are just a few folks who set up tables, and sometimes there are many.

Today was their spring yard sale. I invited my mother to go with me to see what kind of treasures were sitting on the yard sale tables. That's the reason people go to yard sales, you know. It's because in the midst of all the unwanted household items scattered in haphazard piles, there might be something of incredible value waiting to be found. Urban legends abound with stories of the treasures people have found at yard sales...old masterpieces, fabulous jewelry, rare coins, valuable antiques...the list is endless, and probably true.

So, my mother and I headed to Rosanky to see what we could find.

Would you like to see some of the sights? Here is a collection of photos from the Rosanky semi-annual community-wide yard sale.

Rows of tables line the field. Some vendors bring their own cabanas, some bring big umbrellas....  (that's my mom holding a music box she found.)

Some bring their own campers, like this vintage black and red camper named "Road King Blvd".

These two were sitting under an umbrella while they kept an eye on their goodies. It was hot today, so anyone who had a little shade had a reason to smile.

Today, I found an old door with intricate carvings of flowers under the glass window. It was probably the front door of some cute little cottage built in the early twentieth century. If I had to pick a decade, I would probably say the 1920's. The price tag said $75.

At another booth, I found what looks like an old school house bell sitting on a milk crate. If you look behind the white stool, you can see an old pump faucet. 

Here is an old gas  heater for $50. I have a couple just like this in my old home, and they put out the warmest heat on cold winter mornings. I love standing in front of the grill as the hot air radiates up toward the ceiling. 

Someone apparently has a green thumb. They brought several little pots of cacti, aloe vera and mother-in-law tongues to sell. In the upper right hand corner, there is a poster sized pink print of Hanna Montana. 

I decided this skull was the oddest thing at the yard sale. It is the skull of a javalina, a type of feral hog found in Texas. The teeth have been painted pink and a stylized sun with pink and turquoise rays have been painted in the forehead. 

This sculpture of a bearded gentleman smoking a pipe was not real heavy. It felt like some kind of pottery. He's not the kind of statue that works with my decor or I would have bought him. He's great.

This lady is looking through a table piled with all kinds of odds and ends. When everything is jumbled up like this, it is easy for a treasure to remain hidden for a long time, so even when the yard sale has been in progress for several hours, the shoppers who take the time to dig through the stuff occasionally find a hidden jewel.

Not everyone who pays their $10 fee for a spot in the field is a spring-cleaning home-maker. There are also vendors who make a living selling arts and crafts. This vendor specializes in Texas rustic wood items. The four crates in the lower left are from the Houston branch of the Carnation company bottling plant. I suspect they were used for milk bottles.

Texans like leather, and this vendor brought a variety of leather pouches, purses and wallets to sell.

Now, after showing you a bunch of the items that were for sale, I have to tell you about the best part of the Rosanky yard sale. First of all, as I walked around the tables, I kept hearing some pigs squeal now and then. I assumed some one had a pen of pigs for sale. I have never seen farm animals offered for sale at a yard sale, but, hey, this one is in the middle of a field just outside a farm town, so it could happen....

Suddenly, a man came walking across the field, holding a little piglet by the hind feet, and he was carrying on a conversation with folks as he passed by.

I didn't hear what he was saying. It wasn't long until I saw him running off to the edge of the yard sale field with a big net in his hand, the kind fishermen use to scoop big fish out of the water. Folk were following him and grinning. I asked, because I am just plain nosy, "What's the deal with the pigs?" The vendor closest to me answered that he wasn't sure, but he thought it was some kind of contest. "So what's the prize?" I asked him. He wasn't sure, maybe some bar-b-que or something. 

Looking up, I saw a young girl running toward me, chasing another little piglet. Folks were laughing and cheering. They were yelling directions to the girl, giving her advice on how to catch the piglet. Meanwhile, the piglet ran right past me. 

After asking some more questions, the story I finally got was that the piglets had gotten out of their pen, and kind-hearted folks were all doing what they could to help the farmer catch his pigs. This one got away.

What a yard sale! I had a wonderful time and hope I get the opportunity to attend the next one Rosanky holds.

Laughing Gulls...My Kind of Bird

Anyone who has ever been to the beach expects to see a few sea gulls, even if they do not see any other kind of bird. When I go to the beach, I always look for them, too. I was not disappointed on our recent trip to Rockport. Here are a few shots of some Laughing Gulls. 

Laughing Gulls have a very loud, raucous kind of call that sounds just like they are making fun of someone with a rude kind of laugh. If you have ever heard them, you will know exactly what I mean. Richard and I would joke about them making fun of other birds as they passed them in the air. Gulls apparently have a very low-class sense of humor.

Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla) 

Chasing Ducks in Rockport

Rockport is a small town located on the Texas Gulf Coast. It has it's share of beach cottages, shrimp boats and bait stands. It also has its own wildlife sanctuary. The Connie Hagar Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Little Bay and it is a great place to spot hundreds of different local and migratory birds. 

 Richard and I happened upon the sanctuary as we drove down the road that skirts the bay from one end of Rockport to the other. We were just exploring, not knowing what we would find, so when I spotted the sign for the sanctuary, several yards out into the bay, I started looking for birds and waterfowl.

We travelled quite a ways down the beachfront when I spotted these birds getting ready to settle in for the evening. For whatever reason, they seemed to prefer this particular guard rail, for it was the only one where they were congregating.

 Of course, I asked Richard to pull over, and he did. Of course, I had to get out of the truck and start taking pictures. You can see that all the ducks had their near-side eyes trained on me, and they went into their "alert" mode.

 And, I moved slowly closer and closer to them. This is the point at which I must have crossed the invisible line of danger, for they started taking off. They didn't fly far, not wanting to leave their roosting spot, but they didn't want to be too close to me, either.

Then, there were the stragglers. They weren't quite as alarmed by my presence. So, I kept moving closer. After several steps, more of the ducks headed for the water.

By now, there were only a few ducks left on shore. One by one, as I inched closer with my camera, they waddled slowly off the rocks and into the water.

Redhead Duck (Aythya americana)

Finally, there was only one duck out of that whole crowd left on the shore. He watched me. I moved a few steps closer.

He let me get within ten feet of him, and then he, like all his comrades, had enough of me. With a total lack of urgency, he turned his back on me and took a step off the concrete...

 And he slipped into the water.

You would think that was the end of my encounters with the Rockport ducks. I turned to walk back to the truck, and look what I spotted...two of the ducks had sneaked around behind me and were already back on shore.

Mottled Duck (Anas fulvigula)

 Once again, I started my approach, and once again, they turned so their near-eye could follow my progress.

 Whoops. I crossed that line, again.

Into the water they went.
And so ended my duck-chasing for the day.

What's Biting? The Fulton Harbor Bait Stand

I know next to nothing about fishing. So, this post is all about making assumptions based on signage. That's my official disclaimer before I start writing about what a person might catch if they were to throw a line into the water near Fulton Harbor.

Here's a bait stand. That's a good place to start when planning a fishing expedition. This bait stand is  convenient, since it sits right on the edge of Fulton Harbor. You can even see one of the fishing boats in the background. 

Let's see...according to the wooden signs nailed to the exterior of the shop, you might expect to catch croaker, shad, eel, pin perch, piggy, sea lice, mud minnows, blue crab, table shrimp, ribbon fish, squid and/or mullet.

Well, after analyzing the list, I suspect some of the sea creatures are actually the bait, and some are the catch. I mean, who is going to spend good money to catch sea lice? And what in the world is piggy?

That brings me to the Fulton Harbor Bait Stand's own disclaimer....

I think you might need to be a fisherman to appreciate their sense of humor. With that being said, you now know where to go if you need bait or information if you are planning a fishing trip to Rockport or Fulton Beach.

Oh, The Beauty of Turquoise...My Favorite Building In Rockport, Texas

Every once in a while, I spot something as we drive down the road, and I ask my driver, a.k.a. Richard, if he will kindly turn around and let me take a closer look. That happened as we drove down the main street of Rockport on our first day in town. 

Actually, I told him that I spotted a house with a color scheme that I would love to use for our 1930's cottage we are in the process of renovating. So, he dutifully turned the truck around and we drove back to this cute little business, only to have him give me a look and ask me if I was serious about using these colors. I guess they don't make his heart sing like they do for mine...

I mean, take a closer look at this realtor's office. The turquoise, red and white are incredible together. It has great curb appeal. Look at the shiny red balls that dress up the landscaping. Shiny stuff always gets extra points, as far as I am concerned. 

Now, take a closer look at the car parked next to the office. For pete's sake, it is a cute little red and black Volkswagen bug. 

Finally, take a look at the headlights. There are eyelashes on this car! I love it.

Well, Richard does not share my enthusiasm for turquoise, red and white, but that is ok. We may not paint our house turquoise....time to look at paint chips again.

Pettus...The History of a Small Texas Oil Town

If you travel on Highway 181, between Karnes City and Beeville, Texas, you will pass through the small town of Pettus. Like many other small towns in Texas, you will hardly realize you have passed through a municipality at all. The main indicator will be a small green road sign announcing the city, and a reduction of the 70 mile per hour speed limit to a more modest 45 miles per hour. So it is with little Pettus.

Richard and I travel Highway 181 when we visit Rockport for our twice a year stay in the HEB Rockport Lodge. Every time we make the trip, we always stop in Pettus. It has both a gas station and a Dairy Queen, you see. 

Looking at this picture, you can learn quite a bit about Pettus. First of all, it is an oil town. The white pickup truck in the foreground is a company truck for a hose and supply company that services the oil business. Also, in the background, you can see an old two story building that has a sign stating it is the Pettus Oilfield Supply company. Looking in the parking lots of the Dairy Queen, you can see all the pick up trucks, for those are the vehicles of choice for this part of the world. 

Pettus was founded in the 1850s, and originally called Dry Medio. After the Civil War, the townsfolks changed the name to Pettus, to honor John Pettus, one of the early settlers. He was one of Stephen F. Austin's original 300 colonists and he raised cattle and horses.

In 1859 and in the 1870s, there were a couple of Indian battles near the town, and in 1866, a right of way was given to the railroad, ensuring the continued growth of Pettus.

 By 1914, the town had over two hundred residents, a cotton gin, a lumber yard, five general stores, two churches, a town physician and a blacksmith. 

In 1929, oil was discovered in Pettus.  A company out of Houston stuck oil with it's oil well named "Number 1 - Maggie Ray McKinney" and ever since then, oil has dominated the business of Pettus. 

With the decline of oil production, the town has also declined. Now, there are only the three businesses you can see in my first photo on the main street through town...the gas station, the Dairy Queen and the oil supply company. That's it. 

While Richard was putting the $3.89 a gallon gas into our pickup truck, I scanned the area and spotted these two tankers on the other side of the highway. Pettus may be in decline, but it is still pushing oil.

Checking Out the Cardinal's Nest

This is the cabin Richard and I stayed in at the HEB Lodge in Rockport, last week. As we sat in the screened in back porch, Richard spotted a female cardinal flying into the little tree that grew right outside the screen. He called me over to the screen to look into the tree to see the nest he found. 

Sitting motionless, but watching us, I am sure, the momma cardinal filled the nest. We couldn't see if there were eggs in it from where we stood.

So, being the nosy photographer that I am, I took my camera outside and peered into the branches, only able to see the underside of the nest.  That wasn't good enough. Very gently, I pulled the branch holding the nest down, hoping it would move enough for me to satisfy my curiosity. It would not move that far.

However, it was too unsettling for the momma bird, so she flew out of the nest and perched in the nearby live oak tree. She chirped in alarm, but she did not really have anything to fear from me. I just wanted a peek.

Holding my camera as high as I could, I blindly snapped a couple of times, hoping I could get a picture of the interior of the nest while momma bird fussed at me from the live oak.

Ahhhh....so this is why she was so worried. There were four beautiful, speckled eggs nestled in the bowl of the nest. Aren't they wonderful?

I have watched cardinal families raise their chicks, and it is inspiring. Long after the chicks have left the nest, long after they have mastered the art of flying, the momma and the daddy still feed their young. I hope these four eggs hatch and grow into fine young cardinals. I wish I could be there to see them grow.