Over the weekend

On Friday the City of Rensselaer and the Gas Department held its annual  Pipeline Safety/Municipality Day Open House at the Gas Department. Among the exhibits were several that encouraged people to call 811 to locate lines before they dig. There were examples of what happens if one does not call.

And also some "Don'ts".

Steffen's Jewelry celebrated its 60th anniversary. I asked if they were the old business in downtown and they said that they thought Campbell Printing was older. Sixty years is remarkable. Checking the Internet, I found that only 44% of small businesses last four years.

Saturday was the Townwide Yard Sale day. The weather was miserable with light rain the whole day. I did not spend much time checking out sales but did see that in some places people had given up, putting their sign and items that they wanted to sell on the curb. I did see a few interesting items. I wondered how old this toilet was, but the seller said that he had bought it at auction and did not know. He was one of the sellers who started on Friday.

 My mother used a washing machine like this one when I was a kid. That was a long time ago.

Saturday was the opening of the farmers market for this year. All the sellers had canopies, a wise choice. Other than some greens from the SJC Hoop House, the only harvested product that I saw was rhubarb.

The trees are getting their leaves, even the oaks. Its time to get the gardens planted and there are still a few plots not yet claimed at the community garden.