RAIN, MUD, SLEET, SNOW....

Neither rain, nor mud, nor sleet, nor snow

Will keep us from our tractor show!

This was our 4th year, we think...we've lost track.

My sister and I have a special "sister bonding weekend" the last weekend of April of every year. We meet in the middle of a pasture in southern Minnesota, where a few thousand other farmers from a five state area, haul their junk with hopes to buy, trade or sell.

Of course, we love this. We get to dig and find those things "normal" people would never think could be turned into anything cool or suitable for home porch or garden. But this year almost did us in. First there was the rain, the day before we got there, and I guess a lot of sellers packed up and left. Then that made mud. Yes MUD, mid-calf depth, greasy, dangerous-to-walk-in mud, thus the mud boots. Then the snow came, only a few inches and with the 30 degree temps, not quite enough to freeze the mud. So by the time we got there, doned our attractive rubber suits and boots, we were ready to dig for our treasures.

The pickins were pretty slim, because a lot of people had either packed up and left, or were hiding in their campers with everything snowed under. We shopped fast and furious, and it only took us 2 hours to fill the explorer and spend all my money. Notice I said MY money...the only thing my sister bought was a red rotary telephone for $2. After 2 hours, we couldn't squeeze another thing in and our feet were freezing. We were disappointed it wasn't an all day experience like in previous years, but the weather just didn't cooperate this year. We were done and ready to hit the local garage sales, and antique shops, then back to our cozy hotel room, have a nice hot shower and read the scandalous novels we found at a garage sale!

So the question is....did we have fun, even with the horrible weather? Of course!

Sufferance is good for the soul don't you think?