Amish Christmas Collection

How about some Christmas stories?

The men of Amish fiction would love to take you on a Christmas adventure.

My own horses have a set of Christmas lights on their barn.

Thomas Nye's Christmas story takes place on a farm like this one. The Holiday Harness Shop shares the happenings in an Amish harness shop during the week leading up to Christmas.

Winter in Amish country is picturesque. 

Action and adventure on an Amish farm don't slow down because of a little snow or cold.

Cozy up with a cup of cocoa, a blanket, and an Amish Christmas Collection this holiday season.

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Or, to order directly from the author with a check

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The Continuing Saga of Karla and Mushka

 

Hello Friends-

If you follow this blog, you are probably wondering how Karla and Mushka are getting along.

We had the normal issues horses have with deciding dominance. It should not be understood the same way as humans working out a relationship. Horses have their own way. It involves a pecking order that must be established.

Once this is decided (Karla is one up in the order) they then have to decide if they like each other. Karla and Mushka are getting along great.

I let this play out before I even tried hitching them up. Many a "Cowboy" or Amish person would have hitched them the first day. I'm not that brave.

My personal strategy is to do like the horses and work out my place as a kind leader. If you work with horses they should see you as someone they can trust and turn to for leadership.

After we established Tom as a friend and leader, we moved to getting harnessed up and finally hitched.

Mushka pushed her head through the collar when I held it in front of her, revealing she was not afraid of it and in fact, extremely comfortable with a collar.

We had a few snags along the way. The first struggle is that I know nothing about Mushka and her past experience. She seems kind and calm. I found out she hates to have fly spray near her head. Unfortunately, I got brave because she didn't seem to mind being spayed until I got near her head and she went ballistic. She hauled back and tried to break free of her tie rope. This is not a good sign! This caused me to lose confidence in her. What if she tries to haul back while in the harness with Karla?

In the end, everything has gone smoothly. Mushka does seem a little prone to haul back on her halter. This is an extremely bad habit for a horse and can be quite dangerous. When we were finally hitched to my flat sled, everything seemed calm. I will say, Mushka acted a little confused. My guess is that her experience is as a single horse pulling a cart. She did not panic or resist being hitched at all, but she did not seem comfortable with a wagon tongue. She did not show fear, just a little confused by it.

All in all, I'm satisfied. It's not the same without Karma, but we will have a lot of fun with Mushka.

Mushka

Meet Mushka.

If you have been following the Amish Horses Blog, you know I lost my horse named Karma a few months ago. Karma's full-sister Karla grazed our pasture alone most of the summer. I visited quite a few Amish farms in my area looking for a new horse, but it wasn't meant to be. My Amish neighbors let me know that good horses are in short supply at this time.

I don't know much about this beautiful white horse. The man who brought her from Wisconsin to the Kalona Sale Barn gave some vague information about her. First of all, when I asked about her name, he just said, "I call her Girl or Babe, whatever is easiest." Apparently, she has had a number of homes and her name got lost along the way.

He mentioned that she spent some of her fifteen years on an Amish farm, and had been used as a "Produce Horse." He asked, "Do you know what that means?" He then explained that Amish girls had used her to pull a walking plow in their large garden. He also thought that on some occasions one sister would ride the horse holding a bag while another handed produce up.

You can see ears pinned back. Horses communicate with body language. Karla is making sure this new horse knows that she owns the barn. They are warming up to each other slowly. 

Whenever a horse comes through a sale barn without much history it makes the buyer wonder why. Maybe someone reading this blog will recognize her and contact me with more information. In the meantime, I chose to buy her because she seemed absolutely gentle and friendly. 

We decided to give her the name Mushka. (Pronounced with a moo) We have a family friend from Bosnia with that name and we always thought it sounded beautiful. Our friend spells her name Musca but I felt people would likely mispronounce it. My little granddaughter approves of Mushka. She has enjoyed petting her many times already.

 Mushka photographs well. I was looking for a black horse to match Karla, but when I met this white beauty I couldn't resist bringing her home. I personally feel they look attractive together.

At one time, I calculated how many horses I've owned in my lifetime, I need to do it again. I think Mushka is number 35.

Samson and Amish Delilah

 

Interesting Title?

Listen to Thomas Nye on the Buggy Talk Podcast

Click Here to Listen to Podcast

Amish Fiction Author Tracy Fredrychowski interviews Thomas Nye about his writing career, interest in horses (especially draft horses), his novel Samson and Amish Delilah and so much more.

Click on the link above to give it a listen.

If you are interested in reading this or any of Thomas Nye's books click on the link below.

Thomas Nye on Amazon

To purchase a signed copy directly from the author

click here: Order a Book

Church- 1921 or 2021?

Amish Church hasn't changed much in the past 100 years.

However, there are some changes. In 1921 the meeting would have been held inside the farmhouse. In this photo, taken on 7/18/21 the service is being held inside the white pole building just beyond the buggies.

If you notice, a strip of tin siding has been removed for the purpose of letting air move through the building. This is important for a crowd of people meeting on a hot July day in Iowa. Keep in mind, no air-conditioning, no fans. 

The gathering happens around 9:30. Buggies pull into the driveway and women and children are dropped off near the house. Dad or an older brother drives the buggy out to a green pasture and they unhitch the horse or horses. (Large families come in double buggies which have two rows of seats and require two horses to pull the larger load.)

The men gather in a circle near the barn or under a shade tree until it seems everyone has arrived. They head inside the building, single file, in order of age, eldest first. Once the men and boys have all been seated on the men's side. The women and girls begin to file in and take seats on the women's side in order of age.

 

Services will last until around noon. Everyone will file out in reverse order. The men will gather in their circle and visit quietly. Older boys will form a circle of their own and compare notes from last week's adventures on their own farms. Little boys might step inside the barn to look at a newborn calf or colt.

The women will help the host housewife bring out the meal into the pole barn which the young men have converted into a cafeteria after the morning service ended.

Everything is done in a very orderly and peaceful way. The men return inside and take seats for the meal. Plenty of pickles and cheese are likely. Homemade bread and with the Amish specialty Peanut Butter with Karo syrup mixed into a perfectly creamy consistency. After the meal, the men and older boys gather their family horses and hitch them to the buggy. They stop by and pick up the women and little children and return to their own farms for a quiet Sunday afternoon. Chore time will come soon.

A Tribute to Karma

Once in a lifetime, a special friend comes along that you'll never forget. Karma touched my life that way.  Our Karma happened to weigh in close to one ton. (2000 lbs) She could pull a plow like a tank and share a tender moment with a child. Some horses are sassy and some are skittish. Karma was a rock. She wasn't a needy horse, not begging for attention, yet she seemed to understand that humans enjoyed being in her presence. Almost as if she understood that her immense size combined with her soft muzzle and gentle disposition brought something special into the life of us much smaller humans. As though she knew people long to connect with large beasts, yet fear what damage they could do to us. She was there as an open door for that kind of interaction. 

Karma was born in 2000 on an Amish farm about 5 miles from my place. She came to live here in 2007 with another mare named, Coke. Coke was Karma's niece. She gave birth twice but both foals died mysteriously within a few days. Afterward, she tried to adopt foals away from other mares.

In 2017 I traded Coke for Karma's sister Karla. If you want to learn why I made that move, click on this link: Why Trade Horses and the sequel post Part 2 of the Trade

One good friend of ours came to visit in a wheelchair. Karla (Karma's sister) seemed nervous about the unusual wheeled vehicle. Karma came close and leaned her soft muzzle close to our wheelchair-bound friend allowing for a sweet moment of connection between them.

Good Karma

It may surprise you to know that an Amish family named their horse Karma. I don't think they had the religious term in mind. All of their horses have names starting with the K sound. 

One of my friends heard that my Karma passed away. He said, "We can't afford to lose any good karma these days."

I've posted hundreds of pictures of Karma online. She has been the heart of my Amish Horses Facebook page: Amish Horses on Facebook and of this blog: Amish Horses. The Amish Horses Blog has been viewed by individuals in almost every country of the world and has over 250,000 views.

Karma donned the covers of 4 books. These books have been read on 3 continents. Books with Karma on the cover are in homes all over America in almost every state. Karma also appeared in a TV show, Rural Heritage. The show aired twice on national television and has over 30,000 views on Youtube. Here is a link if you want to watch: Amish Horses in Print She, Karma, has never traveled over 10 miles from the Amish farm where she was born. However, without leaving the farm, she brought joy to people the world over.

Karma and Karla (her sister) are the inspiration behind the horses in my novels. I've had the pleasure of having many horses over the years, but Karma wins the blue ribbon for personality, good looks, and being the best in harness.

My granddaughters were quite willing to dress like little Amish girls for this cover pic. They were very comfortable sitting on the horses anyway. In fact, the little girls begged me to set them up on horseback every chance they got.

Not only did Karma and her teammates appear on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube, they appeared with some incredibly scenic skies. That is me with Karma and Karla under some heavenly skies.

My grandchildren developed a wonderful bond with Karma and her sister Karla. They love sitting on and giving big hugs to both horses.

They also spent hours braiding Karm and Karla's manes. 

Karma and Karla gave many wagon rides to family and friends. The horses even enjoyed a few picnics with our family. Karma showed great patience with all children visitors and she had many. She even seemed to take special care to keep them safely on board.  

Karma seemed to enjoy all of the attention she got from children. Not only could more than one child sit on her at a time, but the children could also crawl all over her back.

I wrote a short story about how I came to own the team of horses, Karma and Coke. If you are interested in reading it for free, click on this link: Back in Time

I must say goodbye to my dear friend Karma for now. However, I fully expect to see her grazing the green grasses of heaven someday.

 

Early Spring Amish Style

Spring in Amish country is a picture of hope and new life.

Winter is a time for endurance. Livestock hide inside the barn waiting for the snow to melt and uncover fresh green pastures.

At the first hint of warmer weather, Amish families prune their fruit trees and plant seedlings inside or under a glass-protected sprouting box. The young women pictured above are working together to cut excess limbs from their apple trees. This process keeps the trees from growing too tall. Shorter trees are easier to gather all the apples out of and pruning actually increases fruit production. Many apple trees in town are left unpruned and even the small amount of fruit they produce is left to rot on the limbs. 

Not much is ever waisted on an Amish farm.

If you look closely at the photo above, you will see chickens coming out of the coup in the center. Many large egg producers keep their hens inside. On an Amish farm, they are free to roam the yard and peck insects and spilled grain from under the storage bins and around feed bunks used by larger animals. In this way, even spilled or undigested grain is given an opportunity to be useful, and not wasted. Every evening the chicken are shut inside to keep them safe from foxes and opossums.

Amish people walk a lot. It is a big job to hitch up a horse, unlike turning a key in a car inside a heated garage. If the destination is not more than a mile, walking is an easier choice, and good for a person. As you can see, these young women have a distance to the nearest possible destination. 

They gave a friendly wave as I passed.

No point in offering a ride, they wouldn't take one unless they know you well.

Spring brings rainy days. Many Amish in our area cover open carts with clear plastic. This holds in a little heat and keeps the snow and rain off your lap. A light two-wheeled cart, such as this one by the stop sign, is much easier for a horse to pull. This means your horse can travel faster than in a covered top-buggy.

As the grass grows greener, cattle, horses, and sheep give birth to new life. Good farmers use animal husbandry practices to encourage calves, foals, and lambs to begin their life after snow melts and pastures green-up.

Horses, sheep, and cattle ofter share a pasture. Sunny days warm the soil and "green up" the grass. Trees begin to bud. Cloudy days water the earth and lightning adds nitrogen to the soil.

Creation is designed to reproduce life.

Notice the church wagon in the photo above. The wagon is drawn by horses from farm to farm bringing church benches, songbooks, and tableware for a Sunday gathering, or weddings and funerals. 

Each spring brings new life.

 

Cold Cold Cold

Unbelievable cold gripped the U.S.A.

Nobody felt it more than livestock and Amish farm families.

Life must go on.

Jobs are to be done. Cattle and horses need to be fed. School continues. 

Laundry washed and dried.

Even fun and games and building snowmen are part of winter life.

Some people love the cold... especially snowmen!

Windmills use sub-zero breezes the same as any other.

Errands must be run. The only heat in a buggy is body heat or a heated brick underfoot, or a potato in the pocket. 

 Spring will come. Hopefully, soon!