Bama Planter

  Several outstanding pieces are going on the block here in Alabama next Saturday at a local auction being held in a lovely old country town, and I hope that someone ( including me) will be there to give each of them an appreciative home.  I can't buy them all, but I might be lucky enough to bring one home.   I always keep the philosophy that if  I don't get anything at an auction, I can at least study what they have and learn something new.     Above is a cherry three door chest made by an early Southern cabinet maker sometime between 1830 and 1850. The pulls and the legs appear to be original.    The drawers should have small elongated irregular dovetails with a shadow of the cabinet maker's pencil marks.   Here is the back of the chest showing its age and authentic wear.  If this one comes home with me, the first thing I'll do is take the drawers out and use a flashlight to search inside for the maker's...

 About four years ago some sort of purple thistle appeared on the farm. They are quite spectacular and grow six feet tall in the fields.  The blooms eventually turn white, producing whispy white seeds much like dandelions do.  On a windy day they will catch a breeze and float away for miles.  Since my father is not living here now,  the front field has not been cut so the thistle is having a fine time being free to reach its full potential without any fear of mowing machines.  Don't get too close.  Those little thorny things on the stems can stick you.  This is a strange little blue wild flower that comes up in the same spot every year. I see them in many country gardens here but no one has ever told me their name. They only bloom for a couple of weeks but can put on a nice show while doing so.  These aren't wild flowers; they are my grandmother's oxalis.  She had them in her yard as far back as I can remember and probably ...

 I loaded a bird's eye maple library table and 4 Drexel ladder back chairs on my truck and headed to Clanton with the intention of returning home that afternoon with something primitive or something old and interesting.   My first dealer friend couldn't use a table and chairs that were blond ,  as his customers aren't the blond furniture type.   My second dealer friend thought they were just fine, and told me to look around to see if there was anything he had that I liked so we could make a swap. I spotted the children's buggy in two pieces on the floor behind a large brown break-down pie safe.  I love anything old on wheels, so my estimation of the value of the buggy was higher than the value of the table and chairs and I really was looking for a flat out swap without any money being involved.   " What about this? "  I cautiously asked.  My friend advised that I had made an excellent choice, as he had no time to restore any...