[Beaker]

Well I saw the trunk and its contents. I'd say that the winning find was a D ring snaffle with copper rollers. There was a mish mash of stable bandages, a set of braided and curb reins, terribly moldy, and a set of brand new sheepskin halter covers never out of the package. There were a couple of things that I couldn't identify. Something that looked like it could be part of a breast plate, but isn't, and something made out of webbed nylon that isn't a girth... might be part of a lunging setup. The trunk itself is really nice, blue finish and white trim, a metal top, and it padlocks. Looks like someone got their initials put on it, seems I'm going to have to change my name to something that has EER in it. :-D

[Duchess47]

It sounds like a great find. A little soap and neatsfoot oil will fix all the moldy stuff. This is a good test for your camera. You can take pictures of the odd stuff and we can try to identify them. And you can’t beat padlocks when working out of a barn.

[AnAmericanMother]

Well, give those reins a good scrub before you give up on them! I've saved some stuff you wouldn't believe -- mold is pretty much a given here in the South!

As for the trunk, go have a brass plate made with your initials on it, and screw it down over the painted initials!

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

You know, leather straps always come in handy for something. The trunk sounds nice. Will be handy to keep things in that need to be locked.

I had to trim my morning glories today, they grow so think and long they start hanging in the gate way so low you can't hardly get thru. I took a picture before I trimmed the outside edge of the arbor. They are so thick above you could stand under it in the rain and not get rained on. Notice the arch of dead leaves, that's from earlier trimmings. I trim them about once a week. See how close they are to the top of the gate.

And this is how the fence looks.

Becky

[ShakeNJake]

Although it looks gross, the mold is a good thing. It tells you that the leather still has a lot of moisture in it and has been well taken care of. Give it a good cleaning and it should be fine.