Friday Fences - Lydia Wells' Wrought Iron and Estate Auction

Here I am again, folks--using Friday Fences for more than one purpose. Last week it was to introduce Chet the puppy (he's doing great--got his first nail clipping this afternoon and not a minute too soon!)and now this week I'm sharing the wrought iron fence around the home of my late friend, Lydia Wells. If you read my blog you may have seen the post that I wrote about her untimely death the end of January and our 30 year friendship. So, first the fence and then some business! Lydia Wells' home is in Frankfort, Kentucky. She bought it for its beautiful yard and landscaping. We all loved this ornate wrought iron fence around the back yard:

Over the years Lydia Wells improved the landscaping with dramatic tree plantings; shrub and flower borders--a place where all wild creatures were welcome--birds, squirrels, raccoons, possums, and the odd neighbor cat. Here a newly leafed Japanese maple sparkles in the sun:

  

And, of course, since it's Derby weekend in Kentucky must share this great horse head lamp post along the front sidewalk:

And here are a couple of views of the backyard with their sweeping flower and shrub borders. The sweet little reading boy is tucked in among the iris:

And now to the business! Lydia Wells entrusted the settlement of her estate to a friend of over 30 years with help from another friend and me. We call ourselves the Three Amigos and have worked since January--with additional help from many others--to carry out Lydia Wells' wishes regarding her estate. We are now to the point of holding an estate auction on May 15 in Louisville, Kentucky to sell her beautiful antique furniture, paintings, crystal, silver, and other objects d'art. You can view much of her estate pieces by clicking on Hays and Associates Auctions . Scroll down the page to "Antique Auction" and click on the Tuesday, May 15 date to see everything. In addition, our friend had a fabulous collection of fine and costume jewelry--gold, sterling silver,vintage pieces, and a collection of over 500(yes!)butterfly pins. We've set up a shutterfly account so you can zip though almost a 100 jewelry photos in no time. From the shutterfly homepage just click on the 3 categories: Butterfly Pins, Horses, and Fine/Vintage Jewelry. If you enjoy jewelry it will be a treat to just see all the unusual pieces she has. Go here for the tour: Lydia Wells Jewelry . Finally, you don't have to be present to bid--just contact the auction company if you need a sugar chest or a butterfly pin! Lydia Wells selected three charities to receive proceeds from this estate auction: Best Friends Animal Society, Habitat for Humanity, and The Nature Conservancy.  So you can see why we hope to do well with this auction. Now for some straightforward fence stories be sure to check out all the Friday Fence players at Janis' link .

(Note: I'm having trouble with new Blogger post formatting. Tonight couldn't get some photos to upload. If you like antiques and jewelry, be sure to take a quick tour of the auction and shutterfly links.)