A Craigslist fairy godmother, sorta.

Sometime in the near future, I am going to have 50 seedlings that need to be planted. Since a traditional garden is incompatible with my big dogs, I have turned to container gardening. Last year I successfully grew tomatoes and basil on my patio.
I was thinking that I ought to buy some more containers to plant my seedlings in. Since pots are spendy and I need many, I thought I would check Craigslist before Home Depot.
I typed "planters" in the search box, and I got one good result.
The ad, which had two photos, was for several large planters including three half-barrels, as well as potting soil, three hummingbird feeders, and some hand tools "and whatever else I can find."
The price was right, so I called her up and made arrangements to pick up the planters.

When I arrived at her home, she said, "This is your lucky day." and pointed to two boxes on her living room floor. She told me that she had given up cooking, so there were cooking utensils (Score! I needed to buy utensils, measuring cups, etc., for the girl scouts!) and some weird candles which ordinarily would bring forth a "no thank you" groan, but I have been asked to save wax for girl scouts, too.
And three brand new, nice hummingbird feeders and two bottles of nectar and some packages of nectar mix.
I grew up with hummingbirds, my mom and stepdad have quite the hummingbird feeding operation at their home. The hummingbirds come to feed, 10 or more at a time, sometimes draining a feeder in an hour. In the mornings, if the feeder is being cleaned they will lightly tap on the window with their beaks to speed up the process. I think my parents have three or four feeders now so that the birds always have access to nectar. Since the birds have come to depend on the feeders, my parents have to think carefully about going out of town.
I've only seen one or two hummingbirds at my house, but I do enjoy them, so I hung up one feeder close to a red rhododendron that is about to bloom. We'll see how it goes.
The box also contained garden gloves, a couple hand tools, a water bottle, a book on rose care, a string of black "pearls" and a pair of earrings- all in new condition. The strangest thing, ever. Her house was clean and tidy and she seemed normal.
I wondered if she was some sort of Robin Hood shoplifter.

The lady also asked if I had a daughter. How did she know? She asked if my daughter would like 5 or 6 cards of metal hair barrettes, the kind that sorta look like paper clips. They were brand-new and we are in the height of growing-out-your-bangs. Barrettes are like gold.
"Here is a set of hot rollers I bought right before I cut my hair." At this point she is no longer offering things, she is just telling me what I am to take. I worry a little about my borderline hoarding tendencies.
She handed me the box pictured above, which as you can see contains a watering can, a sprayer, an unopened bottle of vegetable oil, epsom salt, baking soda and brand-new vinegar. She reached into that box and pulled out a recipe that she had written on half of an envelope for an all-natural bug deterrent.
add to one gallon water:
1t. Ivory Soap
1T baking soda
1T white vinegar
1T vegetable oil

spray on leaves am or pm.

I'll try it. Every time I squirt it on, I will think of that lady.