I went to an auction last weekend. The two main things I went for were a garden push plow (pictured below) and a chainsaw. I got both, plus about $20 in “choice boxes,” so it was a good day. Choice box is when they’re selling a bunch of stuff in boxes, usually on a wagon, and they don’t want to go box by box because that would take all day and some wouldn’t get bids. So they take “choice” bids on a bunch of boxes, and then whoever gets the high bid takes however many boxes he wants for that amount each, and then if there are any left, they go again.
Usually, they don’t shift to choice box until they’ve cleared some of the more valuable things off a wagon, and that gives you some time to eyeball what’s left. In this case, the auctioneer caught us by surprise, going straight to it on the first wagon, and the bid only went to $2, which was also his minimum bid. So right away he said, “Anyone else want a box off this wagon for $2?” I’d seen one box with hats and another with new pairs of gloves, both of which I needed, so I grabbed both of those. Ended up with more than two dozen hats, including a couple that weren’t even advertisements, so that was a bonus.
That’s how a lot of the day went. It was cold, under 40 degrees with a pretty good wind coming across the wet field so it felt colder. It was a big enough auction that they ran two rings most of the day, and I think they just wanted to get done. So I got several $2 boxes, one full of light bulbs, a couple with dishes and pots and pans, and some with tools and hardware. Also a small power sander and sabre saw together for $3.
It’s kinda funny, because at $1 or $2, it’s almost impossible for a box of stuff to be worth less than that. Even shop rags cost more than that if you buy them at a store. But when you’re at an auction, you can’t buy every box of stuff, so you hold back and look for great deals or things you really need.
The push plow was my real prize. A new one is $100 or so. I got mine for $18, and it’s probably made of stronger stuff than a new one. That’s going to save a lot of hoeing next year. The chainsaw is more questionable. I paid $10 for it, and it needs a new starter pulley. It has good compression, so I’m hopeful that it’ll run once I get that. Sometimes you take a chance.
Late that night, I went to get a drink in the dark and forgot all my choice boxes were still on the living room floor waiting to be sorted through. While falling, I had images of a box full of broken dishes stabbing me in the gut, so I managed to catch myself with my face and one free hand on the other side. My split lip is healed up, but it feels like there might be a small bone in my hand that’s cracked and will take longer.
This 5-1/2 pound cabbage got made into cole slaw for Thanksgiving. Actually, half of it did, because that was a big enough batch. I picked the rest of the cabbages this week, and this one was the biggest. There are still some cauliflowers out there, but I’ll leave them until after this warm spell, to give them a chance to pick up more size.
Got a picture of the cat I call Two-Face. Yes, that’s a horrible name for a cat, but I’m bad at names. This was as close as I can get when she’s not eating. I should learn how to take decent pictures. Cameras keep getting more pixels, and my pictures continue to be blurry. Everything but the cat seems to be in focus.
Something might be up with my Facebook account. Usually when I share a blog post there, it gets a few hits from that direction. The last few have gotten one or none. It might be because I’ve been using Bitchute for my videos. Bitchute was deplatformed the other day by Paypal, so I wouldn’t be surprised if their Big Tech allies are suppressing links to it. Its decentralized design is a real threat to the centralized systems like YouTube and Facebook, even if you ignore the political angle (which they don’t).
I’m going to keep using Bitchute because it’s a good thing and we need more choices like it. If that means Facebook suppresses my posts, well, I expected that eventually anyway.
It’s also possible my articles just suck lately so people stopped reading. Can’t rule that out.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.