The Sale Barn



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Yesterday, we made our weekly trip to the sale Barn. It’s truly one of the highlights of my week. It’s so busy here on the farm. We are working harder than we ever have. I used to think I worked a lot…and I did, but it wasn’t nearly as intense as this lifestyle we have right now. I’m not complaining ….at all. I’m glad for the work. Those shirts or bumper stickers you see that say, “If you ate today, thank a farmer” make a heckuva lot more sense now.
So, back to Saturday mornings….we look forward to getting up early and making the half hour drive to Beebe to get our supplies for the week. I know it would be a lot more efficient to buy more at a time and go less frequently, but then we would miss this time that we both hold so dear.
It goes something like this…..one of us gets up and puts on the coffee, which is always a treat for us. We love good coffee, and especially if it’s brewed just right in the French press. We’ve recently discovered this amazing little kitchen implement thanks to my cousin, Jon. I love the simplicity of it…boil the water, three scoops of good coffee and let it steep about 4 minutes. Perfection.
So we fix our coffee to go, get dressed, put my hair up in a pony tail (yes, I can say that now) and get in the truck.
I plug in my phone to the aux cord (no Bluetooth in our old farm truck) and say a little prayer that the fuel pump works. Though, if it doesn’t, I know my husband will get out there and bang on it until it cranks. I know it’s time to replace it, but that’ll have to wait for a rainy day.
Once we are on the road, I pull up our favorite podcast, “Sean of the South”. If you haven’t listened to or read Sean Dietrich, do yourself a favor and look him up. Each episode of the podcast, lasts about a half hour so we are usually finishing it up when we get to Beebe.
The road trip is glorious. It’s a beautiful drive through the country and we always discover new treasures along the way. “Did you see that tree?”, “”What were they thinking when they painted their house that color?”, “What kind of flower is that?” All the while, our buddy Sean is telling tales of everyday life in the South. His language is so vivid and we are transported to some little Baptist Church in Alabama or to the Cracker Barrel on his way home from the beach. It is our quiet time….our time in the bubble where no one else exists.
We always stop at McDonald’s to use the the restroom before we get to the sale Barn….only porta-potties there. I may be a farm girl now, but I’m drawing the line there.
Once we get there, it’s like we’ve been tranported to another country.
There are live animals of every sort….lots of chickens, pigs, rabbits, turkeys, dogs, homing pigeons, peacocks, goats. We don’t buy our animals there, but it’s a sight to see. Kids carrying bunnies, dad’s hauling chickens by their feet….two in one hand and one in the other.
There are puppies who find their forever homes and I’m sure there are parents who go home and wake up the next morning and have their coffee and a big helping of buyer’s remorse.
There are plants and trees of every kind. We love looking at those and dreaming of the orchard we hope to have some day.
There are dozens of people selling the items they’ve made…homemade cedar chairs, upcycled furniture. There is also plenty of junk. It only costs $4 to set up and sell there so there are people who just back their truck up and unload their kids rusty tricycle, an old lawnmower, a picture that used to hang in their living room but has since gone out of fashion and that old set of dishes that their Aunt Velma gave them when they got married in 1973. It’s that kind of place.
There are hundreds of people walking around from all walks of life. Some are there because it’s the cheapest place to buy cereal; some are there to get camo for their next hunting trip; some have been coming for more than fifty years; some are there for the novelty;
and some, come every week to get their supplies…they listen to Sean of the South and relish every moment together, experiencing the sight, smells and sounds that are so unique, yet now so familiar. They hold hands and thank God for the time and second chances that have led them to this very place…..in Beebe, at the sale Barn on a Saturday morning.


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4 Comments

  • Great read y’all keep on doin what u do and livin that dream (a lot of folks dream) ;)) love yall

    Jhurst
    Posted June 9, 2019 at 7:41 pm
    • Can’t wait til y’all come back Jon. And we sure are enjoying our coffee. Love y’all ❤️

      Kelly Grappe
      Posted June 9, 2019 at 7:57 pm
  • Very well-written, Kelly. This would make a good segment of CBS’s SUNDAY MORNING. It’s your Dad’s favorite show. Jane Pauley hosts it. (I know you don’t have “real TV”, but you could always YouTube some of the segments.)
    Enjoy and celebrate life!

    Connie Hurst
    Posted June 9, 2019 at 9:39 pm
    • Thank you so much. I will check it out!

      Kelly Grappe
      Posted June 9, 2019 at 9:40 pm

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