A Busy (And Expensive) Monday

I drove to the Tractor Supply Company in Potsdam to buy a stock tank, but first I had to stop and admire the baby chicks they had for sale:

The stock tank I'd had in mind turned out to be too big (I already had a big one), so I opted for a smaller model. And it was cheap enough that I bought two of them:

I stopped at Walmart to get bags of compost for planting fruit trees. I was impressed that they had a collection of canoes out front. This part of the country is rife with rivers, streams, bogs, lakes and waterways of every description. I found it fitting that even the local Walmart would have canoes on display:

Potsdam was a busy city, with lots of traffic, freight trains and people. The man with the sign was advertising a furniture sale up the road:

And then I drove to the Kubota Tractor dealer and arranged to purchase this beauty:

And on the way home, I stopped at Potsdam's infamous "Toilet House." They'd replaced some of the toilets with a couple of bathtubs and scarecrow type figures, but it was still an eye catcher:

Here's a close up. It seemed odd that a nice town with so many fine homes would have such a silly display. But then I remembered the several universities in town and figured that might explain a lot. Well, it's all good, clean fun - especially now that there are bathtubs in the mix:

I arrived home and let the dogs out into the sun. They were very happy:

I'd also been to a local tree nursery and picked up my order (nursery tour posts are coming up soon). I began by digging a big hole and admiring the quality of soil here:

I got out my four young trees and unpackaged them:

I added compost, planted, staked and watered them. I purchased super cold hardy plums (two varieties required for cross-pollination), an apricot and a bush cherry:

Potsdam, New York, A College Town - Part 2

I'd left the dogs behind back at the farm and was taking a driving tour of Potsdam, New York. Just outside the "downtown," I parked beside this old brick building which housed a law firm. I decided I'd walk from there because the main street, called Market Street, had an awful lot of traffic:

Market Street was exceedingly busy, so much so that I had trouble crossing, though I confess that my picture taking and eyeballing the sights was a big part of the problem. There were plenty of cars and plenty of trucks carrying merchandise in all directions. So much activity for a small town in a bad economy! Actually, I'm told that the national economic trends usually bypass this area and its economy has been steady:

And with two large universities in town, one would expect to find at least one large bookstore:

There are many areas outside of town with broad roads and big box stores galore, but those look pretty much the same all over the country. I am happy to report that Potsdam's downtown seems to be thriving in spite of the big box stores:

I was parked near the Little Italy Pizzeria (but that is not my car in the picture, though it even fooled me for a moment) and it was time for me to continue my driving tour. This, however, is where I had trouble crossing the road because of the large amount of traffic and my inattention to the lights. Just as I was about to ignore the "Don't Walk" sign a police car went by, effectively putting an end to that idea:

And from there it was on to the infamous toilet house. I featured it in a blog post a couple of years ago and the toilets and urinals are still all there:

In addition to the toilets, behind each of which the owner planted three large sunflowers this year, were scarecrows and signs and what appeared to be space alien references. Each toilet was filled with plastic flowers. A great deal of work goes into this yard each year. I imagine it's really tough to mow that lawn:

The garage was painted with pinkish orange paint and adorned with two urinals. A large face made with what appeared to plastic plates smiled out at all passersby:

The side street adjacent to the toilet house was pleasant, middle class, clean and well kept. I imagine the home owners there have no problem giving directions. They just tell visitors to turn when they get to the toilet house!:

And another home made from what must be Potsdam Red Sandstone:

One last house and I decided to continue my journey. But I'll post about that tomorrow:

Just Wait 'Til You See This House!

Shortly after I'd purchased the farm, Rick drove up to visit and assess what work needed to be done. We spent a weekend there and toured the surrounding area. One of the most interesting and memorable sights was "The Toilet House" in Potsdam, New York.

Potsdam is beautiful small city with two universities, grand old homes and much to recommend it. But right there on one of its main roads was a house ornamented with multiple toilets and urinals. It was bizarre. So on my last trip up to the farm, I put Daphne in the car with me and drove to Potsdam to get a few photos. I found it still decorated with Easter eggs, or at least that's what I think they were. I parked in the lot of a convenience store across the road. The first thing I noticed was the - uh, rather colorful garage. And yes, those are urinals adorning the garage. Feel free to click these images to enlarge them for a closer look:

And then I walked around the corner to get a snapshot of all the toilets in the front yard:

Each toilet on the lawn was filled with plastic flowers and the bushes were bearing colorful plastic Easter eggs. I never did figure out what the scarecrow was all about:

In addition to 5 urinals, the owner of this property has adorned his garage with what appear to be dinner plates and much colorful paint:

I asked a man at the convenience store if he knew the story of "The Toilet House" but he did not. A college age man walked by and I asked if lots of people take photos here. He laughed and indicated that they sure do:

This is the house which apparently goes with the toilet, sink and urinal display. If the photo is framed to exclude the silly lawn and garage ornamentation, it looks staid and dignified:

I took one final look at the incredible display:

And walked back to my car with Daphne inside. I'd brought her with me in part to help with her socialization, but also because she's so small and Seamus is so giant that I'm hesitant to leave them together untended. He'd never hurt her on purpose, but he's so big that he might do so accidentally. Since I was on a tour of the area, I decided to travel some of the rural roads I hadn't yet seen. I'll post photos from that tour in the days to come: