Fly By

 Crop dusters fly over the Nye homestead.

We had a fly by spaying the other day.  I was out cutting weeds in the pasture and all at once a low flying plane came out of nowhere.  I enjoyed watching it and took a few pictures before the smell got the best of me.  I headed inside with my grandsons, until it got quite outside again. In the evening, my wife and I decided that it would be a great time for a campfire/smores fest.

 Our grandsons, Alex and Ezra totally agreed!  The boys wanted to sit up on Karm and Coke first.  We noticed that no flies were bothering the horses.  Very unusual. 
 Ezra suggested that grandpa ought to get up on Karm too.  I climbed on a concrete block to get on my Percheron mare, which was fine until I jumped down and caught the corner of the block with my shin.  Ouch!

While enjoying the campfire, my wife commented that it was a perfect evening, with no flies or bugs.  It didn't occur to us until later that the fly by, spray-plane had killed off all the bugs in our area.





Fortunately, fire-flies were unaffected.  My grandsons spent over an hour catching and storing them in a jar they used as a nightlight at bedtime.

Grandpa Horse

Yep, I'm a grandpa and I love it!  My little grandchildren love horses, like me, and want me to be the horse at times.  My old knees aren't having as much fun as Lyla and Kinley are.  You can see my little granddaughters have the concept of hitching up a team of horses by the picture below.  They hitched a team to this wagon, which by the way is a load of more horses.

 These blond horses were my first draft team.  I bought a pair of sisters that were Palomino/Belgians from an Amishman in our community and started raising colts with them. One of the mares had a bad hip and was soon replaced by her own daughter. They were Lucy and Sally originally then after Lucy passed on, her daughter Babe became Sal's teammate.  Babe had her own colts that became my horse grandchildren.

My daughter Bethany is riding double on Sal, with my son Dallas. (Picture taken about 17 years ago) This photo was shot only a few weeks after the other and you can see how fast this colt was growing.  I sold these colts at the sale barn and a few years later I saw them all grown up at the county fair.  I think they recognized me... well, I recognized them anyway!

 My current team of draft mares are related also, Karma is Coke's aunt.  The Amishman I bought Karma from still has Coke's mom, Kerry.  Kerry used to be Karma's teammate but was much shorter, so, Coke makes a better teammate for Karm.  You can see what a great match they are.

Karma (on right) is an aunt to Coke

On the Road

 This young guy is around 12-14 and barefoot, driving a big team of draft horses

In the good-old days, young people were often sent out to do big jobs by themselves.  They were trusted with livestock that could be dangerous and farm equipment that was expensive.  It was expected that they would work hard, because everyone had to contribute to keep the family farm afloat.

A teenage boy coming in from the field, with a horse-drawn sprayer

It is so common, in our modern world, to let our teenage children hang around all day and play video games, or mess with smart phones.  Mom and Dad are both working forty-plus hours and then having to split household duties when they get home.  If you don't think things have changed much in the past couple generations, go visit an Amish farm.  You will get a chance to see what things were like for grandpa.  And I think you'll find that it was a very happy, healthy lifestyle.

Three early-teen girls pass our house one fine afternoon

Even if were not planing to make our families return to "the way things were", I still feel it is an education to see what it was like and reflect on what life could be, or should be.  It is too easy to let life happen and then try to figure out what went wrong, with our home, family or marriage.  Maybe we should take a few lessons from hundreds of generations of families that went before us.  We can hear them speaking from antiquity ... through those who have not left the past behind.

Amish Books

 I love history. My favorite time period would probably be the early 1800's.
       Growing up, I always read horse books and watched cowboy movies.  Throughout my life, I have read a ton of books about Native Americans and the Civil War. When I moved to a community that was populated by Amish and Mennonites, it came to my attention that living in this area was the closest thing to going back in time.  Now, I love Amish books, because they have the essence of those wonderful by-gone years, yet, the events taking place in these books are possibly happening in the here and now.

       A short time ago, I set up a new Facebook page named, Amish Books.  I have gone to great lengths to connect you with as many types of books about the Amish, and with as many authors of Amish Books as I can.
       I discovered that many Facebook pages about Amish books are managed by specific publishing houses to promote their own titles.  This fact limits the variety of books they can share with you.

       If you are on Facebook, please check out Amish Books and "Like" it!  If you hear of any books about the Amish, please feel free to share them with all of us on this Facebook page.  Here is the link for Amish Books:
   https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amish-Books/720643077981078 

       I will gladly post any Amish book on this page.  My goal is not to decide which are "good" or "poor" but to make you aware of as many titles as possible.  I'm sure that different readers will connect with different authors, depending on their interest.  Some are looking for romance novels while others may be interested in farm life or religious views.

       Under the Heavens, is more of the type about life on an Amish farm.  As the series title (Amish Horses) suggests, there is a focus on horses, yet it includes a little romance and religion to boot.

You can lead a Horse to Water...

 Water is a source of life.

We need water everyday, but it does happen that we sometimes get too much of a good thing. 

 When my wife and I visited an Amish community near Hazleton, Iowa, spring melt was causing a bit of flooding.  This Amish fella had some manure to haul and he didn't let a little field pond get in the way of his work.  I was surprised that his horses walked right in; some horses will refuse.  I probably would have gone around this part of the field, just to avoid putting my horses to the test.  This is why horses owned by Amish are such well trained creatures.

A few years back, I gave a horse drawn wagon ride for a local Mennonite family's reunion.  They wanted me to take them to an Amish home a few miles from mine, where they were going to look at some quilts.  It was a wonderful evening for such a ride and the perfect destination for a horse-drawn hay ride.  There were a couple of snags along the way for me though.  First off, I told them that twenty people would be a full load and they told me that only twenty wanted to ride.  Closer to thirty got on.  Then, it was a really warm summer evening and my team was sweating pretty good when we got to my Amish friends home.  He came up with a bucket of water and offered some to both of my horses... but they refused.  Old John Henry said, "Well, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink."

Everyone was having such a good time, when we were ready to leave it was getting dark.  One of the family members had brought their grandmother in a small pickup, they followed me back home.  With headlights shining through the crowd and horses, we could almost see and be seen.  This and insurance purposes are some of the reasons I don't hire my horses out for rides anymore.  Sad though, because it was a lot of fun.

At the end of the day, it is still true, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink.  Which reminds me of a scripture.  Jesus was waiting for his friends by a well and a woman came along.  He didn't have a container to draw water with, so he asked the woman for a drink.  She was surprised, because Jewish men of that day wouldn't speak to Samaritans, much less a Samaritan woman.  She said, and I paraphrase, You are asking me for a drink?  His response: "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water... whoever drinks the water I give him will never be thirsty again."
             Gospel of John, Chapter 4
       My desire is to lead my friends to this living water, though, I understand that I can't make them drink.

Amish Horses For Sale

Are you looking to buy horses from the Amish

I think I can help you!

This is a Help Page,

    How to buy horses from the Amish in thee easy steps.

 1) Horses owned and trained by the Amish are available for sale throughout much of the U.S.
Because most Amish communities don't have electricity or computers, it is difficult to find these buying opportunities online. 

 Don't give up ...  there are websites 

 I will share them with you.

2) The easiest (and maybe the best) way to buy horses from the Amish, might be at auction facilities. 

 There are large sales held every spring and fall called Draft Horse Sales. These events draw many Amish sellers and buyers.  There are usually buggy and riding horses available at these sales also. 

        (Good Horses)  Scroll down for Sale Barn Links.

Buyer Beware!  Just because an Amish person is driving a horse through a sale ring doesn't mean they own the horse or even trained it. Many Amish are paid to drive horses through the ring because they are great horsemen, making horses look better.  Before the auction starts talk to the horse owner.  Most Amish people are very honest, if you ask them straight out, they will tell you if they raised or trained the horse.

 3) If you want to buy from an Amish family on their own farm, that is quite possible!

It is actually very easy to find horses for sale in any Amish community.  Horses are a huge part of Amish life, anywhere there are Amish, there are horses. Most Amish folks are excellent businessmen and love to wheel and deal! Another feature of Amish communities which make them great places to do business is that they are extremely close-knit.  This makes it very simple to find what you're looking for.  Merely stop at the first Amish farm or business you come to and tell them what you are looking for, more than likely they will know exactly where you can find it.

If your first Amish encounter seems difficult, don't give up. 

Many Amish people are reluctant to open themselves up to strangers. Be persistent. Once they take you in, most Amish people will go to great lengths to help in any way they can. I am Thomas Nye and I wrote a book based on my experience buying horses from my Amish neighbors.

This book is about draft horses from cover to cover.

Under the Heavens is more of a draft horse manual than a novel.
Click here to find out more:  Under the Heavens

"I thoroughly enjoyed Under the Heavens. So much so that I hurried and read the next two and then the novella... It was a great story, a bible study, and training manual for draft horses all in one." 

                                                                                    Jack

"Such an enjoyable adventure into the Amish faith and lifestyle. I enjoyed the book and went out and bought 4 copies to give away as presents. I am now a follower of the Iowa Author Thomas Nye. I have sat down many times to re-read and enjoy this story."

                                                                             Curtis

Links

State by State Amish Community Guide

Click on the link to find an Amish community near you!

http://amishamerica.com/amish-state-guide/

Horse Sale Links

Kalona Draft Horse Sale

http://www.kalonasalesbarn.com/home/       

Mid Ohio Draft Horse Sale

Multiple Draft Horse Sale Dates if you click on events... 

 (Draft Horse Journal)   Draft Horse Sales

Belgians at the Horse Sale

This Belgian horse is one big boy!  I tried to take my picture in front of him to give some perspective but it didn't work that well.

Yesterday was a great day for me.  My wife and I went up to the Waverly Draft Horse Sale and spent the day.  I sold copies of my novel, Under the Heavens, which happens to be a book about draft horses.

There are always Amish people at draft horse sales.  Many of them stopped to look at my book, and a few bought copies!  I am hoping they will send me a note, telling me what they thought.  There is a P.O. Box address on the back of my book, so that Amish will have a way to contact me.  Of course, I welcome letters from anyone at this address.
Amish Horses
P.O. Box 495
Kalona, Iowa 52247

These Belgian horses were big and beautiful.  If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I am a Percheron man.  Even though I own a team of black Percheron horses, I still enjoy looking at Belgians, Clydesdales, and every other breed of horse.

If you enjoy looking at horses, click on this link below.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/set=a.144988085694409.1073741834.135416786651539&type=3

Step Back in Time

 Amish children walking home from school

near Hazleton, Iowa

 We stopped in the Hazleton Amish community today.  As usual, when I get into an Amish area, I stop in the first gas station and ask the attendant, "What direction do all the Amish live?"  They normally point, "Over that way" and off I go.  Every now and then, they hand me a brochure giving directions to help find Amish stores.  The Hazleton Commercial Club put out a fantastic map of this area, complete with dots showing all known Amish farms in the area and numbered business locations. As we arrived at #4 Plainview Country Store, we saw this man hauling manure. (The store is in the background) He and his horses didn't seem to notice that their field was mostly under water.

 This picture was taken in the parking lot of Plainview Country Store, a dry goods store with a variety of interesting items.  I bought some Maple Creme Nut Clusters, I'm eating one right now and they are crazy good! We enjoyed watching some little Amish children teetering around in the yard but I didn't get a picture of them.  I liked how the wash-line headed up over the buggies.  A teenage girl came out and started reeling in the dry clothes shortly after I took this picture. Her clothes line is on a pulley system between the house and the barn. She stood on the edge of the porch and gathered everything in from that one spot.

This picture was taken near another interesting store, not on the map, named 150 Discount.  Easy to find because it is just off of Hwy 150 on 150th St.  A really nice young couple run this place and I recommend it as another great variety shop.  Step back in time and visit an Amish community today!

Visit Amish Horses Facebook page

  https://www.facebook.com/AmishHorses

just click on the link above

Harness Shop

 There is nothing like walking into an Amish harness shop.  As soon as you walk in, a rich smell of leather mixed with harness oils and a scent of horses greets you.

If you are a horse person I promise you will be in paradise.  Most shops, like the one pictured above, sell items from saddles to horse wormer, brushes, hoof picks, blankets, bits and a million other such things. Even if your not a horse person, I believe you will enjoy the experience.  Go in and ask if they would be willing to make a custom leather belt, most will.

There are at least three harness shops in the Kalona, Iowa area alone.  I make a point of going to all three even though I have my favorite. (I won't say which one) The shop east of Kalona a few miles and then south on a gravel road has mostly bio-harness.  A nylon covered with a very durable synthetic coating. They also specialize in show harness.

 The shop pictured above is in town, straight north of the Casey's General Store. That is a mostly leather harness shop and happens to be the first place I did business with, when I first bought a team of horses.

A third harness shop specializes in nylon harness, and is located north of the leather harness shop, several miles on a gravel road (the road jogs west a little at one point.)

My two favorite harness makers are now deceased. One of them had a shop a few miles from my home and was one of the kindest men I have ever met.  He was full of horse wisdom and told great stories, many of which appear in my novel, Under the Heavens.  
I am saving his best story for my sequel, about an amazing pony.

My other favorite harness maker told me that he went to grade school with my wife's grandfather.  He was a nylon harness man and also was a very kind, wise horseman, with great stories.  Both of these men I used as examples for my Grandpa character in my novel, so if you read my book, know that there really are men like him out there in Amish communities.

I took a single harness in to this last man mentioned one time, to be repaired.  He told me that it may take a while to fix it and wondered if I had any other errands to run while he worked on it.  I did, so after spending an hour and a half in Kalona, I came back to check on his progress.  He was just finishing up when I got there and then spent what seemed like 5 minutes figuring before he gave me my total bill.  I was getting nervous about the price!  He finally looked up at me and asked, "Does $1.75 sound alright?"  I told him that it sounded awful cheep.  He replied, "Well, I didn't use much material, it was mostly labor."  Don't let me lead you astray, I doubt it will be that cheep when you go in to get a leather belt these days.

Check out Amish Horses Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AmishHorses
Under the Heavens, on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Under-Heavens-Thomas-Nye/dp/1936746794/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390142726&sr=1-1&keywords=under+the+heavens+thomas+nye

Amish Never Forget

 One day I was driving down a country road a few miles from home and saw a mare with a colt in a small pasture.  The Amish family, who lived on that farm, were all out in the pasture admiring their new addition.  I slowed down, wound down my truck window and called out, "Nice Colt!" They all waived, with big smiles. I didn't know this family at all, but drove by occasionally to look at their horses.

A few years later, I bought a team of horses from this family at the sale barn. They asked to use the horses they sold me, that next spring, for plowing.  I was more than happy to oblige.
They invited me to come plow for a day with a six-horse-hitch, that included my two horses.

Stonewall and Jackson

(the horses I bought from this family)

When I was on their farm, I thought I should ask if they remembered a guy stopping by, one day years ago and hollering, "Nice Colt."  I doubted they would know what I was talking about.  If they did remember, it would surprise them that it was me.  Oh no! That's not how it works with the Amish!  Not only did they already know it was me; they told me, "You know what we were doing that day? We were counting the starlings on the telephone lines."

Most of us Americans are more familiar with celebrities or sports stars than our neighbors.  As a letter carrier, I have found that many people have no idea of their neighbors names. The Amish, on the other hand, are completely community oriented.  Once they know your name, they never forget it!

That day plowing and other experiences I had on their farm are part of the stories I share in my novel, Under the Heavens, http://www.tinyurl.com/underheavens
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AmishHorses

Horsepower in 2014

 The world has changed a lot in the past one-hundred years! In 1914 almost every farm in America was powered by horses, not tractors. At first glance these monster tractors look like a vast improvement over farming with horses, but are they?

Let's stop and go over the pro's and con's:
Tractors... one man can farm hundreds of acres alone. Horses... more people needed but that means more people with jobs.
Tractors... although they use expensive fuel, they don't need to be fed when not working. Horses... they have to be fed everyday but they can raise their own renewable, environmentally safe fuel.
Tractors... don't get sick and die. Horses... can reproduce their own replacements.
Tractors... don't have personality flaws. Horses... actually have a personality, many that you can fall in love with.
Tractors... will make you more dollars (True, that modern farmers spend more money on luxury items but almost all of them are strapped with a debt load their huge tractors can't pull them out of.)  Horses... will save you more dollars (Most Amish who farm with horses operate with zero debt.)
In the end, it is obvious that tractors are more convenient and make it possible to raise more food with less labor. If you ever visit an Amish farm, where they are using good old-fashion horsepower, you will find that with our "convenience" we have lost a lot of what makes life rich and meaningful.
What if, instead of one man farming a thousand acres alone, there were eight families working that same land. And those eight families helped each other daily in a close knit community. Welcome to the world of the Amish.

Does this fascinate you? Check out my novel, Under the Heavens, it will give you a chance to feel what it is like to spend a summer on one of these farms.

                 http://www.tinyurl.com/underheavens

A glimpse into "Under the Heavens"

        An Amish man appeared, walking toward them on the road.  When the man got within earshot, he called, “Sam, David, you boys are just on time!  My tractor is stuck, and I was going home to get my horses to pull it out. Why don’t we see if your grandpa’s horses can do it?”  Without saying any more, the older man jumped into the wagon alongside Lenny.  Sam headed his wagon through the nearest gate into a field, where they found a tractor half sunk in mud.
        “Whose boy are you?” The Amish man looked at Lenny, waiting for an answer. The boy’s face got hot; he didn't know how to answer that question.  Sam bailed him out by answering, “He is Jake’s stepson.”  The man gave a disapproving look, and nothing more was said.  Lenny assumed the Amish man already knew about him.

        They pulled up beside the helpless tractor; everyone jumped out and, in a few moments, they had both massive horses unhooked from the wagon, in place and ready to pull.  This was something Lenny hadn't seen before.  Sam held his horses in check as the older man mounted his tractor, starting it up with a pop, causing both horses to jump.  Lenny doubted these animals could pull out a heavy-metal  machine.

In a scene that filled his heart with wonder, both horses arched their massive black necks and heaved forward.  Muscles rippled in their shoulders and rumps and coursed down through their heavy boned legs.  One of the giants shook his thick mane and snorted as though gathering his strength, which seemed to spur on the other.  These horses dug their hooves in mud as the tractor wheels spun a little, and then took hold, spinning up out of holes it created when attempting to free itself.  Sam called his horses to a stop when the tractor rolled onto solid ground.

Lenny found himself letting out a victory shout when it happened, and the others all looked at him as if to see what was wrong.  Without much more than a nod, the older man drove off to finish his fieldwork as soon as the horses were unhooked.  His cousins hitched them to the wagon again,without a comment, they headed back down the road.  Lenny couldn't keep quiet anymore,“Wow, that was amazing!” he called from his luggage seat in the back.  Sam and David both turned and looked at him as though surprised to hear him speak. “That was so cool! Is that the first time you've had horses pull out a tractor?”  Both Amish boys gave Lenny a blank look.
          After a long, awkward silence, finally, the older brother spoke up, “Everyone around here knows Grandpa’s horses; they've pulled out lots more than tractors!”

Here is the link for more info

http://www.crosslinkpublishing.com/product_detail.php?product_id=148