Haha - nice find!

And I would love to know where you find used gardening tools in decent condition! The stores I shop always have only junk, when it comes to old tools.

Or was I just too late and you beat me to it?

I got my pole saw from a Habitat for Humanity thrift it a Friskars brand and works great, and a well used but still lots of life left to them pair of clippers at Goodwill, and a few shovels from a small thrift that provides meals to the homebound. Lots of good tools out there but you got to be in the right place at the right time.

I don't sell on eBay, but I've seen so many people at my local Goodwill looking up the cheap dishes, I may start selling them on Craigslist.

I found a lot of my better garden tools at garage and estate sales.

Hard to be cheaper than Goodwill on 99¢ days. Since i am not picky as to design or color for my saucers i'll by whatever stack of plates have been colored tagged for the .99. If i'm lucky i'll get a stack 4-6 of boring plates for 99¢, if i am real lucky they will have lots of boring stacks of plates with that color tag. Its always the boring ones that are left for the sale since the nicer colorful ones were bought when they were a higher price.

That said my everyday set of correlle i use came from goodwill but not so discounted, and my nicer noneveryday plates came from there too.

The thrifts I visited this summer in NC and VA were boring and overpriced. I guess this state is the end of the line for a lot of folks... we thrifters are the beneficiaries.

Irma, the thrifts in this college town stink. All the clothes are too small and all of them are too expensive. I really miss my thrifts in SW FL, especially the Goodwill Bargain Barn. I also miss having so many estate sales to go to. Not many retirees living here.

Speaking of "thrifting" garden goodies, I've gotten quite a few things for free by the dumpsters or curbside.

• buckets
• wood for stakes and garden edging
• terracotta pots
• large nursery pots
• a small trellis
• the back of an old ladder I use as a trellis
• a nice shepherd's hook with two hangers
• two outdoor tables that I use to put plants on in the courtyard.

Pickings have been sort of slim lately for garden stuff, but Lowe's has been a bounty for containers.