Papa’s Got Water

Living in the woods means helping your neighbors when you can. For me, it means whenever a friend has a problem I drop what I am doing to help. It also means whatever I am working on takes three times as long as it should and my honey-do list rarely gets done. Aggravates the wife a little bit so I try to do that stuff when she’s working (not that I help others but the honey-do list never seems to get shorter). When she’s off I’m all business on my own stuff. Looks good.

Papa is an old friend who lives up the road from me. Nice man but won’t ask for anything or a bit of help no matter what. His grandson got in a little bit of trouble a while back and had to move in with him. When he did he found Papa’s didn’t have indoor plumbing. He was using a thunder bucket that his girlfriend would dump every day.  I was pretty upset that he didn’t have the plumbing and told my wife I would help him. When I told my wife about it she didn’t seem too surprised. Not about Pap’s not having plumbing or me wanting to help.

Now you might think “Aw, poor old man living alone in the woods without a toilet.” Not so. Papa has his girlfriend living with him. There is an unwritten law in this world that says a man might not have looks or smarts but can win a woman if he has a few bucks. His girlfriend is 35 years younger than him, young enough to help him spend his money and give him bragging rights. Ask him about her and he just gets the biggest shit-eating grin you ever saw. Nuff said.

Well, anyway, the plumbing was for Papa. He’s got water again and still has his bragging rights.

While I am at it, here’s a couple of things I did get done from the honey-do list.

Vintage Red Metal Shelf

 

Vintage Mint Green Display Shelf

Post by Dan Patterson of MetalWoodsnWater.etsy and MetalWoodsnWater.artfire

Dan-the-Man Estate Sale Pickin’

Like so many others I have become a fan of that TV show “American Pickers.” You’ll might have seen the show where a couple of good ole boys drive around the country looking for people with lots of junk to sell and look for treasures. They find some cool stuff like old gas station signs and carnival rides. Those boys are a trip to watch not to mention just a little bit inspirational so when my wife said there was an estate sale she was interested in going to I thought I might try a little pickin’ myself. Besides, it is too darned cold to get out on the river or climb a tree so off to town we went. I even cleared out the van so we could have room for the bargains.

Having a estate sale in the middle of the week and during a cold snap turned out good for us. There wasn’t as many people as if the weather was good but there was still quite a few. Lots of out buildings at this sale and stuff in the house so the little woman went inside and I checked out the outside.

What a sight! My shop just isn’t big enough for all the stuff I wanted. The old boy was a wood worker because he had every kind of wood working tool imaginable. The lumber was incredible. Cedar, oak, pecky cypress, just to name a few kinds, piled up and heading out. Big lathes, drills, hammers and mallets of every size, and tool boxes every where. The old boy was a fisherman, too, who kept his old fishing lures in a special place in one of the out buildings. There was old wooden ones in excellent condition. What caught my eye was an aerator. Not the kind for the fish tank, the kind you pull behind a tractor to aerate the soil, hence the name (had to explain it to my wife. She thought I was buying another fish tank). Also found some things I need for welding.

Then the wife came out to the out buildings. “Baby, what’d you find?” she asked and before I could tell her she started snooping through the buildings herself. Found a couple of bird house gourds,

 

old jars of nails (I think she just wanted the jars)

 

  fishing lures, and a beer mug made from a Schaeffer beer can. Looks like an advertising thing.

The funny thing is she doesn’t drink!

Then she spied an old lamp with the coolest base. The base is cast iron, no rust just sawdust. 

“The old organizer would be great for a jeweler’s tools” she said when she piled it in my arms.

She piled me full of stuff, then she went back to the house to get her treasures. Dolls, sewing patterns, antique bottles, and a raccoon cookie jar were just a few things she found.

In all, I think I did pretty good. Might not be the caliber of those boys on American Pickers but then I new at this. Give me a little time and I’ll give them a run for their money. I might even arm wrestle once or twice.

 

Post by Dan Patterson of MetalWoodsnWater

Dan the Man and Fishing Lures

Welcome to my blog where I jot down ideas and tell stories about my life in the North Florida woods. I live here with my wife, 3 dogs (poodles I've trained to hunt), one cat (the other got snake bit), and a lovebird I bought for my wife. We live far back enough from the road that not too many people can see the house. Good. That's the way I want it. The folks who matter know where I am and come to visit often. We have a big house, a bigger garage, and about 20 or so boats. We'll talk boats later.

Hunting and fishing in the part of north Florida I live in is a way of life for many and definitely is for me. I live for it. I plan next year's hunt the day after hunting season is over. I know the moon cycles and the way it affects the deer and fish. My favorite TV channel is the Weather Channel. My favorite clothes are camo.

Yesterday my wife found some old, excuse me, vintage fishing lures while yard saling and decided to make key chains out of them. Cool idea. She showed me them before she started and I swiped one before she could "upcycle" it (her words). Great little trout getter. The keychains are cool, too. She did them up and posted them in my Etsy shop, MetalWoodsnWater. Now she wants to decorate the Christmas tree in old fishing lures and bobbers. I do believe she's redder than me.