The Beauty of Age

Last weekend, a little town next door had an outdoor flea market called "Vintage Down South."  I'm hoping it will turn into something like Round Top in Texas, or The Polka Dot Flea in Florida.

They had a great location for a starter show, with lots of big, shady trees.

Converted trailer for selling t-shirts. Cute!

Don't we all love our outdoor chandys...

...and old pickups?

And now we get to one of my favorite things to photograph -

RUST!!!

I'm thinking out loud now, why do I love to photograph rusty objects? Maybe it's what they represent - wonderful and useful things of bygone days. Days that were simpler, safer, at least in my memory. You know how in our mental photo album, childhood memories are gaussian-blurred & bathed in that warm light that Steven Speilberg uses? Maybe photographing them preserves them in some way, gives them respect; a redemption of sorts.

I also love the texture of rust. Most definitely the color! Rust is the color of October, my very favorite month of the year. While we're strolling down memory lane, I'm reminded of my senior year Homecoming outfit - a rust colored body suit worn under rust-plaid hot pants with matching jacket! It was quite an original ensemble and to my knowledge, no other Court member had ever worn hot pants before or since :)

My brother & I had little cars just like this when we were kids. My grandparents' house had a porch that ran the whole length, with honeysuckle vines climbing one section. We would pedal like mad up & down the porch, stopping at the bank to get "money" (as far as we were concerned, money did grow on vines!) Then we would pass each other, wave & shout "Hi Pal!!"  It became a game called Let's Play Pal.  We still call each other "pal."  Mmmmm, one of those warm, glowy memories. Makes me smile just to write about it.

I did buy a couple little things for future crafting (not pictured).

I liked how the sunlight played on this array of bottles.

And these baskets. Makes you want to pick apples, right?

There was live music all day, both days. I really enjoyed the mournful mountain sounds of local band, "Bandelier."  [I am shocked that this Pink Floyd/Bowie girl is liking this particular sound lately. Never saw that one coming!]

I have to applaud musicians who will provide background music while people shop, eat, talk, etc. You know everyone is enjoying it but it must feel like playing to an empty hall. These repurposed church pews made a neat display & seating area, but they were right in the sun. I hope in the evening they were filled.

Here I merged two photos and will leave you with a fabulous quote I just found last night: