A Darned Good Feed Store. Only the Good Friday.

It’s really Good Friday, and not just because I say so! Easter weekend is here at last. For gardeners in Texas, that means we can finally feel comfortable about putting out our plants. Usually, there isn’t another freeze. Getting to plant means that I get to take a trip to my local feed store, which may not sound special to you, but that’s a good thing!

Have you ever been to an old-time feed store? If you’ve never had to buy rabbit food or “chicken scratch” then you probably have missed the experience. That’s a shame, because I’ve always found them to be a wonderland. Feed stores don’t just have animal food. They often have everything a gardener might need to grow truckloads of vegetables.

My local feed store is no exception. I visit the feed store instead of the big, fancy nurseries because I want him to stay in business! His prices are the best in town.

My feed store is tucked into an out-of-the-way part of downtown Denton near the railroad tracks. Most people probably don’t even know it’s there — Mr. Tucker didn’t, and he has lived in Denton for several years longer than I have. It isn’t a very big place, but it’s crammed to overflowing. The lot outside the store is literally covered with racks of tomato plants, pepper plants, and colorful flowers. It makes a gardener go apoplectic with the desire to buy.

Just inside the door of the store, the owner presides over the cash box. He rarely looks at the customers, because he’s busy tallying items on a yellow notepad or watching the live monitor showing the cattle at the feed lot. It’s surreal to try to make a purchase while watching the heifers and the steers getting shoved into the middle of an arena to be examined by the buyers. Looking in their woeful eyes, I could almost become vegetarian.

Good thing they weren’t showing pigs, because I’m not giving up the bacon!

I imagine that if this fellow saw a cow he wanted to buy, he would make a customer wait while he called the cattle barn to place a bid.

I’ve never seen him stand up; if he wants something he hollers for the hired help as if he were a king on a throne. When he speaks, which is rarely, the words come out of his mouth as either a growl or a bark. If you didn’t know better, you would think he was angry enough to bite your head off. He reminds me of the actor Ed Asner …do y’all remember him? This man is large and gruff like Asner and, like the characters that Asner often played, he has that proverbial heart of gold.

I know that for a fact.

I dropped by the store earlier this week to get some seeds. The store doesn’t have a large selection of pre-packaged seeds; but has a wall of shelving that contains hundreds of jars of seeds. I never knew there were that many varieties of crook neck squash. There are two scoops that look like either tiny ice cream scoops or large melon-baller scoops (take your pick). A small scoop of seeds — any kind — is fifty-cents; a large scoop is a buck.

I packaged up my seeds and rummaged around a bit. Near the seeds there were some gardening gloves hanging on the wall. Now, I already have gardening gloves, but he had a pair of blue leather gloves, called “Urban Cowgirl Cutting Horse Gloves,” that caught my eye. I had to have them, because I want to fancy myself a cowgirl!

I looked at the price: $18.50! What?? But … I HAD to have them. They cost more than the seeds I was buying (and I bought enough seeds to feed the nation, so y’all come).

When I placed my items on the counter, the man started tallying my bill. “Lessee,” he said, “that’s $15.00 for the gloves…”

I said, “No, they were $18.50.”

He didn’t look up. He said, “That’s $15.00 for the gloves…”

“It says $18.50 on the tag,” I interrupted.

He glared at me and growled, “That’s $15.00 for the gloves!”

“Oh,” I squeaked, finally realizing he was giving me a discount. “Yes, they are $15.00, thank you.”

He shook his head and muttered under his breath. I couldn’t understand all that he was saying, but I did hear him mention “danged fool woman.”

People, even buying those darned gloves, a brand spankin’ new hoe, an enormous bag of potting soil, and a gigantic bag of cypress mulch to go with the 22 plants, and 13 packets of seeds, I got out of there for around $70. And, he threw in free onion sets — I took every single one he had!

Y’all excuse me. While the weather permits I need to plant some onions … as many as I got, I imagine I’ll still be planting on the 4th of July!

Are you wondering what I mean by “Only The Good ?” I’ve been writing Only The Good Friday every week for a few months now, and sporadically posting Only The Good before then. Here is what I have told you before:

For some people, Fridays are “good” because they are the end of the work week. For other people, Fridays are “good” because they are the Sabbath day. For me, Fridays are “good” just because I say so.

Friday is the one day out of a week where I refuse to be pessimistic; I refuse to write a post that is snarky; and I actively search for the “good.” I’ve discovered that if you practice looking for the good, it becomes much easier to find!

You can join me, and several of my friends, if you like (I’m trying to spread this “optimism virus” on the internet). Write a post about something good in your world, or tell us about your favorite charity. Tell us about a book or a song that gives you delight. You can even post a recipe you think we might enjoy (especially if it contains bacon!). If you do post, please link back to this page so your readers can join, and others can find you.

And, if you don’t want to post, then take just a minute to think … then post a comment to tell me something good going on with you today. Here’s hoping your day is filled with Only The Good.

I’m trying to get a blogroll together, so if you are linking to OTGF, please let me know! If you have a “category” for Only The Good Friday, give me a link to your category. That way, readers can see ALL of your OTGF posts ANY time they visit. My category link is:

http://thiseclecticlife.com/category/only-the-good-friday/

Please tell me if I somehow missed you, and I’ll get you on this list. Thanks to all of you for playing along!

RV Poetry; Candid Karina; All My Great, or Not So Great Adventures; Inside Mo’s Mind; Thorne’s World; Down River Drivel; Duward Discussion; Ramblings of an Unstable Mind; The Eclectic Witch; Insightful Nana; Newbie Lifeline; Everyday Tarot; West of Mars; Life’s Journey; Karina at Candid Karina

Other posts you might enjoy:

1. What The Angels Eat
2. Revenge On A Gardener
3. Only The Good Friday. Ch-ch-ch-ch-Changes
4. Give What You Grow. Only The Good Friday
5. Only The Good Friday #4

Tagged as: Feed store, Gardening, Only The Good Friday, seeds