Springfield Antique and Flea Market Show...

There is something delicious about that first long weekend in spring.  It's time to be outdoors and soak up those first rays of sunshine in weather that says you really don't need a jacket or a sweater.  Sometimes that first long weekend can be filled with rain and then it's really all about the gardens and the trees.  This long weekend was one of those very delicious "this is for you" weekends.  We added an extra day on either end of the weekend and took off to go antiquing.  Mostly I think it's looking for junk but it's "good" junk.

Lake Huron taken from the bridge that connects Sarnia, Ontario to Port Huron, Michigan

Many other Canadians had the same idea of leaving on Friday, ostensibly to beat the rush, and in fact we became the "rush".  A two hour wait to cross the bridge and go through customs into the U.S.  It's times like this when patience really is a virtue.  It was hot, the sun was beating down and it was lunch time...but on the whole, it was worthwhile.

We headed to Springfield, Ohio for an antique/flea market show.  This one was 3 days ... it was billed as an "extravaganza"...and the only thing extravagant about it was the incredibly, unbelievable heat.  We went on Saturday and it was 91 degrees.  Even with the extreme heat we managed to walk for 3 hours, looking at all the wonderful displays and deciding if there was truly something we had to have.

At the end of the 3 hours we left with 3 bottles ... for a total of $10.  That was it.  I liked a lot of what I saw but nothing was whispering to me..."take me home".  It isn't always about the purchase.  It's really about the experience and everything else you take from it.

Here are some of the lovely things I saw before it became even too hot to lift the camera and focus before the perspiration dripped into my eyes....

there was a colourful pig...

and a kick ass goat doing a jig...

and a cow that would never get over the moon.

 

 

I loved this idea.  I'm going to use the boys' old wagon and do something similar!

There is something very special about this photograph.  Not long after I took this, a woman with a baby in her arms stopped to look at this display.  She picked up the box with the pillow, put it back and accidentally knocked the plate.  You can guess the rest.  The plate is history.  It no longer exists.  Except in this photograph and the photographs of anyone else who managed to snap it before it snapped.

I have no issue with people who bring their young children to these kinds of events.  It isn't everyone who has the luxury of free day care with relatives or who can afford to pay a babysitter so that the adults can have a day out.  What happened with that plate may or may not have happened had the woman not been holding a baby in her arms.  She had one hand free and two makes all the difference.  What I hope was taken from this by the women who had this stall was that people ARE going to be there with young children and it's probably best to not display breakables where they are precarious.  That could have happened to anyone...man or woman...with or without hands full.  The woman who was looking at the object beside the plate likely wasn't even aware of the plate because that wasn't her interest.  Having the plate at the back of the dresser with no protection behind it was an accident waiting to happen.  The plate holder is far too small for a plate of that size and that weight.  It's always easy to lay blame...and much harder often to accept responsibility.  Food for thought.

I'll share the rest of the weekend and purchases in future posts.