Indiana ArtisanMarketplace/Crawdad crossing

The grim cold weather we have become so accustomed to contributed to a weekend of success for most artists at the Indiana Artisan Marketplace. The fourth year saw a large crowd both Saturday and Sunday and while I did not sell many pieces of my handmade rustic willow furniture, sales of recently gathered pussywillows more than compensated. My buddy John Bundy also had a good weekend selling his duck decoys. I was lucky to have my sister Cindy help me on Saturday when the crowd was large and the sales of pussywillows were off the charts. It is always wonderful to have her sales skills to help me.

The other artisans seem to have had a good weekend as well.

On the way back from gathering some willows for my demonstration at the show, as I was coming up Cyntheanne Road, I spotted a crawdad inching across the road. This is something that I look forward to every spring, as it is as much a sign of advancing Spring as the sight of a redwing or a buzzard. I pulled over and advanced upon the large crawdad making his or her way across the road. I remember seeing this sight every year since I was a kid. As I drew near, the crawdad held his claws up to try to scare me off. I grabbed him behind his head and deposited him on the opposite side of the road. Hopefully he did not find any need to get back on the road. I hate seeing them smashed on the road.

I unloaded my stuff at the shop and though the day was warm, the shop holds the cold and I needed a fire. I had the doors open and it gradually warmed up. I was able to rest my weary bones and back in my rocking chair and enjoyed a nice ribeye after a weekend of food on the fly.

I will get back to making handmade rustic willow furniture this week.