Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Farm Auction

Great post about attending a farm auction from the Homesteading Neophyte Blog


Farm Auction

Saturday we drove an hour out into the middle of nowwhere to attend a farm auction. Our goal was a windmill, a plow and a cast iron claw foot tub.

We arrived a little late, we didn't have time to look around before the auction got underway. The men wondered off into the machinery, while we women went into the barn for the furniture and other household goods. Sounds a little old fashion, but that's how it turned out.

I wasn't after the furniture, but did end up with a 1960's green foot stool with storage. I was only a dollar. I had my eye on one thing in that barn, and I would get it. But before we get to that, I also bought 2 boxes of 1960's board games, for a dollar. 2 boxes of fabrics and 2 boxes of crocheting material.

The auctioneers took a break, because they had begun the bidding on the tractors and cars. My sister-in-law approached me and told me that there was hard wood flooring in the barn. She had already told my husband {her brother} and he told her to tell me since I was the one working in that area. I thanked her for the heads up.

Back into the barn. I was going to bid on the canning jars, but m sister-in-law started, so I bowed out of it. I waited quietly until they got to the flooring. I won the bid at $22.50, turns out I was bidding against my brother-in-law without knowing. Ah, well, I wanted that flooring.

I got 7 bee hives for $9,

and a donkey cart for $5.

I didn't bid again until we got to the books. My bookcrossing friends will know how this story ends. I couldn't tell you how many books were there, or how many boxes. I informed my husband that I was going to be a good girl and only get 3 boxes. And I did, for $3 a box. Then my sister-in-law took two. Then no one wanted to bid. I took the remaining boxes, all, for $1. We moved onto the next table full of boxes of books. I didn't bid, I was trying to be good. One man bid and got 3 boxes, then once again no one bid. The auctioneer saw it in my eyes, he had too. He leaned over to me and said, "I will give you all the books and the small bookshelf and the wooden shop table for $1." I looked away, thinking and trying not to jump up and down screaming I LOVE YOU!. Instead I nodded, "one dollar." SOLD! I now have a couple thousand more books.

I told my father-in-law what I did, he shook his head and said that his son wouldn't be happy. But I got the shop table! And a man asked if he could go through my boxes and look for old bibles, I told him he could, but there wasn't a bible in the lot. He did give me $2 for an old encyclopedia.

I also got some milk filters and milking gear, and a few misc items.

I also got the cast iron bathtub, for $9!

and a garden planter for $5 {it still works}

My husband bought the plow
Yes, it is a horse pulled plow

The windmills went for almost $500 a piece, so we didn't win them.

He wasn't mad about the books because I had won my bids, low, on the items he wanted, or was glad I found. He bought 13 bridge boards, and 6 wood planks that were 30 feet long.

We spent a total of $300. Not bad for how much we got. Everything we bought will be used.

Sunday we had to retrieved the lumber. My husband and I did it alone. The bridge boards weighed 250 pounds a piece, and the planks were behind bid piles of someone's lumber inside of a shed. We had to lift and finagle them out, all 7 of them. We were down to 4 when someone came over and helped. It went a lot faster. Still after 3 hours, my arms are now dead weight.
The red gates on top of the lumber are stock racks.

I'll tell you what we are going to do with all that lumber later. It's very cool. . .um I mean hot.