Amish Church/ Autumn

A perfect fall day for Amish Church.

My wife and I were on our way to our non-denominational church for Sunday services when we passed this picturesque Amish farm. Their service had already started and the farm appeared quiet and still. There were horses standing tied in a long line with their tails swinging.

The horses can almost be seen in this pic. They were close to the white shed, which happens to be where the Amish church service was being held. If a person listened carefully, you could hear the slow, scooping Amish-style singing filling the air.

Slow-moving vehicle signs seemed to match the autumn leaves perfectly.

 Here is another angle of the iconic Amish farm dressed in Sunday's best autumn attire.

This scene reminded me of a chapter in English River: Book III of my Amish Horses Series. In this novel, Lenny and Leah, attend a fall wedding on an Amish farm. The bride's dress matched the leaves. Amish do not use white material for a dress, including wedding dresses.

If you are ever visiting an Amish community on a Sunday morning. Drive along the country roads until you see a yard full of buggies. It is a delightful surprise.

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.

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.

 

Clouds and Fields (part 1)

I'm an author, not a photographer.

All of my pictures are snapped on my ordinary iPhone. I do crop my photos but that's it. No filters.

 My original goal of taking pictures had to do with helping people grasp the beautiful images I attempt to describe in my novels.

If Thomas Nye shares any of the traits of a photographer, it's the recognition of natural beauty and a desire to capture a glimpse of it to share with others. I do this in my books as well as with my cellphone pics. Can you believe the glow of light and color within those clouds?

It just so happens that my wife and I have a Sunday evening passion for driving through Amish country. We climb aboard my old pickup truck and take our dog Wesely and a bowl of popcorn. Moving about the speed of a buggy with our windows down, we take in all the sights, smells, and sounds of Amish country. We've had a great run with amazing clouds and I'm excited to share them with you.

My horses are used to being captured by an iPhone. This selfie (above) of Karma, Karla, and myself might look photoshopped. Nope, it's not.

Golden and ripe for harvest, a field of oats contrasts green ditches and growing corn. (above) You can see an Amish cemetery notched out of the field and three Amish farmsteads under beautiful clouds. An Amish schoolhouse (below) sits behind a field of alfalfa hay. Clouds can add such depth and power to a tranquil scene. If these pictures catch your interest, then you may love reading my books.

Here is a link for a description of my stories: Novels by Thomas Nye

I hope you enjoyed these photos. They were all taken over the past couple of months. I titled this blog (part 1) because I have more "clouds and fields" pictures to share with you. Watch for (part 2) Be sure to click "Follow" on the sidebar of my blog to be notified when I publish new posts. You might also want to "Like" @AuthorThomasNye on Facebook.

Amish Farm Fall Tour

Who doesn't enjoy Fall? 

Let's take a tour through Amish farm country as the season and leaves turn.

Horses under brightly colored trees.

 Sunlight breaking through the leaves in heavenly rays.

You can almost smell the apples!

Above: a horse rests while at a hitching rack. 

Above: A young Amish woman heads into Kalona, Iowa. She gave me a friendly wave just before I snapped this pic. It's common for Amish in Iowa to wave to all who are friendly enough to greet them.

Above: Crisp fall air, drying clothes on a line. Amish families often use a pulley system to hang clothes on a line. If you look closely, you can see the pulley on a pole near the windmill. This way the person hanging out the wash can stand in one spot and move the line forward as they hang the laundry.

Above: an Amish woman rides her bike along a crackling crisp field of corn.

The leaves began to fall away as we get closer to Thanksgiving.

Horses stand in what little shade is left. A few weeks from now they'll be standing under the sunshine trying to soak it in.

Children from a plain Mennonite group play on a playground. Light jackets are all they need.

Interested in reading about Thanksgiving on an Amish farm. My story, The Thanksgiving Frolic is the third novella in "Love's Thankful Heart"

Click on this link:
LOVE'S THANKFUL HEART

Sunset / Sunrise Tour

 My last few blog posts have been tours... let's keep it going. These sunset and sunrise photos were all taken with my cellphone over the past two months. Believe it or not, I didn't touch the color or use any filters on any of them. Those are my horses, Karla and Karma, grazing as the sun comes up.

Karla heads for greener grass as the skies light up. It just so happens that we've had some incredible clouds at dusk and dawn leading to some photogenic moments.

This Amish phone booth serves the family that lives in the farmstead in the background. They can't just pick up the phone on a whim. You may recognize some of these pictures if you follow my Amish Horses Facebook page.

I snapped this beaut as I headed out to do morning chores. I couldn't believe the colors.

 This picture is of the same Amish farm as the phone booth photo. I travel this road to work every morning, therefore it's often a subject for my phone camera art.

 This photo has an interesting twist... it was taken early in the morning, but we are looking due west! Our bright sunrise lit up the entire sky... even the western view. The Amish buggy horses contrast the sky perfectly.

 Another Amish farm waking up under a glorious sunrise. It may look quiet here, but I guarantee that the family has been up for a while when I drive past at 7:00 am. In fact, chores are almost done and breakfast is on the table.

 A white draft horse highlighted in the morning light. Anyone that drives highway 1 between Kalona and Iowa City should recognize this Amish farm and white Percheron.

Open fields under the heavens.

 Another early-morning walk out to my barn.

Sunset silhouettes fences and horses.

 The sky glowed as orange as a pumpkin this evening. Click on each photo and take a closer look.

Amish Horses Tour (Part 2)

Climb back up on the horse-draw wagon, and we'll take another jaunt through the Amish countryside. This first picture is of a Percheron mare. Her foal is hiding behind her. You will get to see the baby in a picture further down in this series of pics. Don't you just love the white fences, barns, and buildings on Amish farms? If you read any of my books, you know that I often refer to that "Look" as I describe the setting.

Tranquillity: That is a single word that sums up the vistas in Amish country.

Indiana Amish farmers seem to be partial to Belgian draft horses. They are what you see pictured above and below. Belgian horses vary in color from what they call, "Blond" to a dark sorrel that I would call, "Brick red."

You will also see buggy horses in among the draft breeds. Workhorses are rarely used to pull a buggy, they are for the heavy lifting such as pulling a plow. In the picture above, you can see the two styles side-by-side. Draft horses are often taller, have more muscle, and can look almost fat. The tall, thin, dark horses used to pull buggies (or "Carriages" as they are known by Amish folks in Pennslyvania.) Most buggy horses are of the Standardbred breed. Although, you will find Morgans, Dutch Cross, and Friesians, or some mixture of two or more of those listed.

It is quite evident that these horses are well fed and cared for.

Most Amish farms are well maintained and picturesque, although that may not always be the case. Before you jump to conclusions and judge a family when you see an unpainted barn or a skinny horse, take a moment to consider that we live in a real-world and things happen. Have you ever had a headlight or muffler go out on a car you were driving? Sometimes horses get ill, lose a shoe, hurt a leg, or anyone of countless misfortunate things that can happen. If a person loves their horse, they will try to nurse it back to health. Anyone that has spent time on a farm knows that sick or injured animals are inevitable. I've noticed that people are way too quick to judge before they take the time to understand the whole story. This happens more on the internet than anywhere! Please don't be, "That person."

If you enjoy these photos, you need to visit an Amish community. Ask around and find one near you. There are Amish communities in almost every state. I've visited the big three: Lancaster County, Pennslyvania, Holmes County, Ohio, and these pictures were taken in LaGrange and Elkhart Counties in Northern Indiana. I've also driven by Amish farms in Ontario Canada and many of the United States; including Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Kentucky, Colorado, New York State, and of course my home state Iowa. I need to travel more! There is so much more to see.

Above: Here is the picture I promised of the Percheron mare and her foal.

At the end of the day, I don't mind coming home because of these girls in the photo above. My own place has a little of the Amish flare thanks to my own Amish Horses, Karma and Karla.

If you want to look at Amish Horses Tour part 1, all you need to do is scroll to the top of the page and click on "Home." After doing that, you can scroll back down and beyond these pictures to find my last blog.