Nearly a full summer has gone by, and my creative outlet of choice has become fixing up my nest. I am not trying to resume “American-normal” summer activities as if they are my god-given right—look at where that’s gotten us. (Though I do yearn to walk along the surf’s edge of the Atlantic.) And I have dramatically dialed back my consumerism. (But I’ve been doing that for decades.)
Normally I brake for yard sales, free curbside trash/treasures, and dumpster-diving. I’ve never outgrown the thrill of the discovery, and many of my assemblages rely on lost trinkets found on the pavement.
I decided to visit my favorite haunt of the last nearly twenty years—The Bottle Shop, about 45 minutes up the Taconic Parkway. (I love that this exit with a junk shop is the entrance to tony Millbrook, captured by Rufus Wainwright.) I did have a mission: an outdoor table top had rotted away. The bottom is an old industrial base, and when functional I use for my occasional social-distanced gatherings. (I can fit four comfortably, seated along my brick pathway that makes a circle around a giant elderberry bush which hovers over a bird bath and my cat Rufus’ bones. Not named for Rufus Wainwright. Just a coincidence.)
As always, I do a sort of walking meditation, absorbing the history, the accumulation, the beauty of decay and juxtaposition that always rewards me. So join me on my walkabout. (Watch out for puddles!)
After an hour of circling and poking, I noticed the perfect table top. Made of cement, with a little ding for accent, it now rests solidly in my yard. And who can resist a vintage bottle or two from The Bottle Shop? Certainly not me!
Oh, and here’s Rufus (hugging Tizzy). Both sort of scavenged: Rufus was found in my Brooklyn basement pipes and Tizzy was under a car in Beacon. Both treasures!
photos Sharon Watts
Dirndl Skirt Gatherings 
Oh, Sharon, I makes my heart happy to read you again and especially to see your (thought-revealing) photos. They are the 4th dimension to your story-telling. I love your creative mix. (Please do not leave your door unlocked or I will re-locate Rufus & Tizzy
To my (sadly catless) home.
><. Gary
Come visit, we can sit next to Rufus and I have 2 bottles of Virgil’s root beer in the fridge! (I am serious! Would love to see you and catch up.)
Yes, I’d love to. But we need to communicate via regular email cause it tome 25 minutes to somehow convince WordPress that I was legit and I don’t have the faintest idea how I did it.
gary@garygladstone.com (Please use this address. ;-). )
great read and I love the picgtures.
Anne Donlon Achenbach
Thanks, Anne! I could have taken dozens more 🙂
I really enjoyed the tour, wish I was there. Love old bottles and vases. Well done, love your writings.Love,Mom xoxo
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad
I must have Pappaw DeWalt’s scavenger genes and Nana’s fashion sense genes 🙂
Hi Sharon! What wonderful photos of an interesting place. I love this name “The Bottle Shop”. I could take some window shutters, I dream about them. 🙂
I know, I keep thinking how to use the shutters as partitions or a wall for a climbing rose on a deck or patio. As long as I could let them decay and don’t feel the need to paint them again!
One of my favorite things to do with my father during his later years was to visit flea market with him. We always enjoyed talking about the things we saw, and I made so many wonderful finds. This post makes me realize how much I miss scavenging for unique items. The Bottle Shop looks wonderful.
What a nice memory to have! I always like to just bob along in these places, seeing what *finds* me 🙂
Good to hear see u writing again.
thank”U”! what a nice surprise to see your comment here!