Amish Cart

 I purchased this old two-wheeled cart at an Amish farm auction. It was old when I bought it in 1992 and that was over twenty years ago now. Believe it or not, it went for $10. I had to take it to another Amishman to have a new tongue put on, which cost me another $15. I have used this little two-wheeled "hitch cart" hundreds, if not thousands of times and it is as good as the day I bought it. (never had a flat tire yet!)

This steel-wheeled cart made it onto the cover of my 1st book, Under the Heavens. I like how simple and authentic it is. It's too bad I don't know how old it really is. It's fun to imagine all the many adventures my cart had on the Amish farm it came from. More than likely, it pulled many a loaded hay-wagon, and barge-box full of grain. It is also quite possible it pulled out numerous vehicles stuck in mud or snow. Carts like this one have been used to pull a dead sow or cow out of the lot, not to mention logs and shrubs.

The wheels make an squeaking sound as they turn, but Karma and Coke don't seem to notice.

Karma spent the first 7 years of her life on an Amish farm and Coke was 4 when I bought her. I know they had a lot of adventures before they came to live with me.

I like to tease them about how easy they have it on my place. I do a lot of the same types of work on my acreage but only a fraction of what work is being done on an Amish farm.

Of course, they had about six other big horses helping when they were on the Amish farm.

Karma is Coke's aunt. Coke's mom was a full sister to Karm. That may be why they work so well together, and look so much alike.

Working with horses on an Amish farm

Under the Heavens, is all about that!

This was one of our cover options for Under the Heavens 

Have you ever looked through the pages of a Draft Horse Journal? If not, you are really missing something wonderful. The Draft Horse Journal is a beautiful magazine that is published quarterly. It is full of well written stories, articles and best of all pictures! Yes, even the advertisements are full color pictures of the most amazing draft horses you've ever seen.

Here are the links to their Facebook page and main website
DHJ Facebook page                    Draft Horse Journal

They also review books!

I took a snapshot out of my copy of The Draft Horse Journal so you could read this review. (with permission from the nice folks at The Draft Horse Journal)

Amazon Link for Under the Heavens

If you are interested in reading about life on an Amish farm, or working with draft horses... this book was written just for you!

Winter on the Farm

Wild horses thrive out west, even in the worst conditions. Yet, people worry about horses on a farm getting cold. Horses are as tough as deer or buffalo. They have it made on a farm where people are providing food and shelter.

Up until around 1920 almost everyone depended on the horse for transportation year around. The Amish help us "Englishers" get an idea of what our great-grandparents lives were like. It wasn't quite like... getting in a warm car, in a heated garage, and jumping out to run into the mall.  Someone has to harness up a horse and hitch it to the buggy before going anywhere. Those buggies don't have a heater in them either.

When you get home, no matter how late, someone has to un-harness, brush and feed the horse. Wintertime is get-by mode on a farm. Amish are hardworking people, who are rarely caught unprepared for cold weather. Barn full of hay, crib full of corn, pantry loaded with canned goods, woodpile heaped up, they are ready for whatever winter brings. When the weather is really bad, chores can take all day. 

You might have to use an Ax to chop open the water tank. Spend extra time bedding down livestock with a fresh layer of straw. Plow snow or shovel the walk. Imagine how nice it is, to finally get inside after fighting the cold for hours, and then sit close to a wood burning stove with the smell of homemade bread circling around you like a wreath. 

 In the picture below, you can see that we have a few Amish homes in Kalona. The city is accommodating for Amish, even providing a shelter for tying horses while shopping.

James (pictured below) is using a team of draft horses to plow snow out of a drive. He is 16 and not sitting on a couch, playing video games, or texting his buds. It was -4 when this picture was taken and this young man is getting a job done. Molly and Mary (his team of Belgians) are more-than-likely happy to have something interesting to do, rather than standing around looking over a fence.

Photo courtesy of Laurie Erwin Gabbert
Interested in reading about Draft Horses and Amish? Read my novel...
Under the Heavens

Horse Pull in Photos

A team of Belgian Pulling Horses, take a rest.

   I like how these two pictures (above and below) show the same horses, with opposite focus.  The top picture shows both horses heads clearly.  Below, everything but the heads are clear. This may be because these horses are completely synchronized; their heads bob together as they stride, and hold still as they push.  Notice how many concrete blocks are on the sled.

This older puller does a great job.  I was visiting with a young Amishman, who was watching the pull beside me.  We liked how this man got his horses to stand quietly and get even before asking them to pull. Then, both horses leaned into their harness gently.  The young Amishman said, "That's the way you want a team to work on the farm."

In my novel, Under the Heavens, I describe a man at a horse pull as a "kind old cowboy."  It so happens, that this is the guy I had in mind while writing.  I've watched him pull horses for years.














Pictured below, is my other favorite horseman at the pull.  This older gentleman sold his team the next day at the Kalona Draft Horse Sale.  Whoever bought them will never regret it.  His horses were not old, but perfectly trained, and showed a lot of heart.  They were the only team at this horse pull not wearing pulling shoes.  Horse Pullers put shoes with cleats on their horses much like a football player might wear, to enable them to get good traction. This old fella isn't a "puller" but a man who uses his horses for a variety of things on the farm, and because they are trained right, they will also pull a big load if asked.  His horses really got in there and dug, pulling as much weight as the others even without cleats.  They pulled all the way through on the second to last pull, after which he very wisely chose to not ask them to pull the final load.  Only one team was able to pull the final load 18 feet. It reminded me of the horse pull in Under the Heavens, Lenny's horses didn't have pulling shoes on either.

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Above and Below, an Amish girl stands near a big team.

The top picture is better of the girl and the bottom of the horses, so I included both.

 

This young Amish girl swung the gate open as teams entered the ring.

She had a smile on her face the whole pull.

Kalona Amish do not attend this horse pull, but Amish who are in town for the Draft Horse Sale often stay for it.  I'm not sure if their home communities are not against horse pulls, or if they are able to take in new sights while on a trip, that seems to be common among Amish.

King and Kong

  This couple (pictured on left) live between my place and my hay-supply.  I noticed a team of Belgians while driving past and stopped in to chat.  He told me that he bought this pair, King and Kong, but had never hitched a team before.  I gave him my cell-phone number and told him to call me if he wanted my help when he got ready to hitch them.  I got that call a few days back and this is a blog about our adventure.
Barney is a horseman, but he is usually riding cutting horses, not driving a team of Belgians.

We spent a considerable amount of time adjusting the harness Barney had bought at an auction.  It's a nice harness but we had to adjust almost every snap and buckle.  King and Kong were obviously experienced because they waited patiently for us to figure it all out.  I told my friend, Barney, "These horses know what it means to get hitched up, but they're probably doubting that we know what we're doing."

When we finally decided the harness was fitting pretty good, we led them over to my stone-boat, a wooden sled that has enough drag they wouldn't run far, if they did take off.  We didn't know what to expect, except that his horses seemed really comfortable.  Everything went great and we concluded that the Amish guy that broke this team did a great job.

I drove them through this cattle pasture for a bit, enjoying myself thoroughly.  The herd of cows and calves watched us curiously. We came out into a clearing, beyond the timber and I handed the lines over to Barney.  He took over with a grin and I could tell that he's caught the draft-horse-bug!  I told him that he probably won't want to ride anymore, now that he sees how much fun it is to drive a team.

Yes, it does look like we may need to tweak our harness fit just a little more.

It was a really warm fall day, perfect for hitching up a team that hasn't had harness on in a while.  We stopped the horses in some shade and let them cool down a bit before heading back.  We wanted this outing to be fun for the horses, so they wouldn't dread getting hitched.

Barney has a lot of horse sense and I think he will make out just fine with King and Kong.  They are geldings about 7 years old, with great dispositions and apparently a fine handler got them started.

Barney, King, Kong and I enjoyed some great views! Of course, every view is better with a team of horses in it.

In this picture you can see my old, rickety, stone-boat. I made it about 20 years ago and hitched a lot of horses to it over those two decades.
It's a perfect tool for teaching horses and drivers, easy to get on and off. (that can be really important if there would happen to be trouble)

That's me, King and Kong

I was pretty relaxed after everything was over and it all turned out fine.

Haymaking Day

 Here is a short excerpt from Under the Heavens, a novel about daily life on an Amish farm.

            For some reason, the sky put on a show that evening, like Lenny
had never seen before in his life. A few clouds had moved in from the
west as the sun began to set. The heavens came alive as clouds rose
higher, and everything began to glow in shades of red. At one point, the
whole sky seemed to be on fire. The Horse Boy sat behind his black
team, silhouetted in the foreground of this grand vision.
       “Did you see that?” he asked Leah as her team of mares
passed by.  Leah responded by quoting a verse from Psalm 19, “The
heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his
hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they
display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice
is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the
ends of the world.”
       He didn’t know what to say. He liked the idea of the skies
speaking about God through a peaceful sunset much more than God
speaking for himself through a thunder storm. Lenny was disappointed
when the four Yoder sisters got their hayracks ready to head home.
Before she left, Leah smiled and told Lenny, “I’ll see you on Sunday!”










                         






       When the last hay bale was finally put into the barn, it was
almost dark. A pale pink hue faded behind the barn as everyone
headed up to the house. They stopped under the windmill to wash up at
a hand pump. Sam pumped while Lenny and David stared at the spout
until water gushed out. They took turns drawing water for each other,
until everyone had washed their hands and arms. Lenny could feel
dozens of tiny cuts on his wrists from hay stems. Cold water soothed
those cuts and washed away hay leaves that clung to sweat on his
arms. Once his hands were clean, he cupped a handful to rinse off the
same mixture of hay and sweat from the back of his neck. Rosie and
Ruthie came up by the windmill, and Lenny pumped water for them.
They wanted to rinse off their feet and ankles, having been barefoot all
day. Bob lapped up water that pooled around the pump.
       Before the small group of worn-out young people even got to
the house, Aunt Lydia had come out on the porch with a large
watermelon and a long knife that gleamed in the shadows. She cut big
half-moon slices of melon for everyone. They all sat together slurping
on juicy watermelon and spitting seeds out onto the grass near the
porch; nothing could have tasted better. Lenny had never enjoyed the
cool of the evening and eating watermelon as much as he was at this
moment.
       He smiled to himself in the dark, knowing his face went
unseen. He grinned as he remembered what Leah looked like as a little
girl; he also smiled about what she looked like on the swing that
afternoon. He enjoyed sitting there with his cousins, eating popcorn
and watermelon. They sat watching fireflies light up, the way town
people would watch a movie.

Here is a link to Amazon reviews of Under the Heavens

http://www.amazon.com/Under-Heavens-Thomas-Nye/dp/1936746794/ref=la_B00LP6V9QW_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1409786056&sr=1-1

Percheron Horse Show

During my recent visit to Des Moines Iowa and the State Fair, I got an eye-full of beautiful Percheron horses.

This year our state fair hosted the National Percheron Show.  I am a Percheron horse owner and a big fan of the breed, so it was right up my alley.  I took so many pictures, it may take several blogs to share them all.

Most of the preparations for this event are done way before show week.  All year long horses are on special diets, they are trained, and carefully shod to give them the best chance at success in the show ring.





In fair week, everything goes into beautifying mode.  Manes and tails are braided, coats are sometimes dyed, hooves are perfectly shod and then painted, and everyone gets a good bath.

There are black and dapple-gray Percheron horses. I can't decide which are my favorite but since Coke and Karma are blacks, I'll go with that.

Someone may say, "These aren't Amish horses are they?"  Actually, quite a few of these horses have been raised by Amish families.  You may also be surprised if you knew how many of the big horse hitches are driven by someone who grew up Amish.

Many of these horses have been trained by Amish and ex-Amish handlers.

When I first got interested in draft horses, there were a lot of old-timers around, who grew up farming with horses.  There are a few of those folks still around but most of the people with experience farming with horses, nowadays, grew up Amish.

The gal in the picture above is a horse chiropractor; I watched her work on this horse for a while.  I'm sure the goal was to get all four legs moving freely and ready for the big show ring.

I hope you enjoyed my pictures.  I highly recommend making a trip out to your own state fair, to take in some of these sights for yourself.  These horses are even more impressive in real life.

Under the Heavens (in pictures)

 Here are a few pictures that provide a glimpse of the world Lenny enters in my novel, Under the Heavens.  One of my main goals for putting together this blog, was to share pictures that would help those who are reading the book to visualize what they are reading about.

 Lenny takes plenty of buggy rides along quiet country roads, heading to Church, Singings and volley-ball games.

He also spend a lot of time making hay with his cousins.  He enjoys looking at the cathedral type space in a hay-mow as well as the glory of the sky out in the open fields, Under the Heavens.

 This picture of Lenny seated on a "fore-cart" was taken the same day as the cover photo.  As you can see, Leah has just climbed the fence to go visit with her new-found-friend and of course... to pet Tug and Train.

 I took a picture of this farm house above, when at Amish Acres, in Nappanee Illinois.  It seems like the proverbial "perfect" Amish home, very much the way I visualized Uncle Alvin and Aunt Lydia's place.

 If you're going to spend all day in your garden, it might as well be made beautiful with plenty of flowers.  This is a "Grandpa House" like the one Lenny's grandpa and grandma live in.  There is a large Amish home next to it and happens to be a few miles from my place, in the very area where the novel is set.

 Harness hanging on a wall behind a large black Percheron.

Lenny spends the first part of everyday walking down to a creek to gather in Alvin's dairy cows.  These cows here are actually standing in a little pond trying to cool off in the heat of an August afternoon, but it reminds me of Lenny's trips to the creek.

Yoder Towers

This is the actual feed mill I had in mind, while writing Under the Heavens.

This grain elevator/feed company used to be named, Yoder Feeds, and these elevator towers are still called Yoder Towers by locals to this day. There used to be a giant Y in the white painted area, on the highest tower, just as described in the book.

To find out more, click on this link below.

http://www.amazon.com/Under-Heavens-Thomas-Nye/dp/1936746794/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t