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.

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!

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just click on the link above

My Changing Background

I am sharing a string of photos taken from within 50 feet of each other, to make a point.

Our lives often feel like we are stuck in a rut, same places, same views, everyday.  But if we take time to notice, we will realize that God is changing our backdrop constantly!

Especially here in the mid-west we find that our plain, wide-open spaces are changing daily.

Make sure to take time and drink in the beauty that surrounds you everyday!

Okay, I will admit having a pair of beautiful horses gives scenery a huge advantage. This morning when I fed my mares, I told them, "Per dollar, you girls were the best money I ever spent!"

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

Hog Farm

        In the good old days Iowa was covered with scenes like this one. Hog sheds were everywhere and big sows could be seen rooting in fields with a litter of baby pigs nearby. Now, this type of view is about non-existent.

I was born in Iowa but we moved to Michigan in 1965. I moved back to Iowa in 1980 and clearly remember seeing hogs in fields all over. From 83 to 88, I worked in a hog confinement operation with close to a thousand sows in house.  That type of operation has taken over the industry and today very few small farmers can compete with those mega farms.

 I miss the old style hog farm!

Whenever I pass by this farm I slow down and look in, remembering how things used to be.  We can't go back in time or even make time stand still, but we can take time to look around and appreciate what is around us.  We never know what changes will take place.

I have to remind myself that the present is tomorrow's good old days.

My Runaway Horses

       Stonewall and Jackson were actually easygoing, gentle horses.  I bought this team at the Kalona Sale Barn but the guy selling them was an Amish man, that lived only a few miles from my place.  The picture with our dog "Coach" sniffing them was taken on their first day as my horses (you can tell he didn't know them yet.)
        I bought them in the fall and that next spring, when they turned 2, I took them back to my Amish friend, he used them for his spring fieldwork.  When they were ready to come home, my Amish friend and I drove them here.  I hitched them a few days later and took a nice drive down a gravel road, everything went great.

       Just before unhitching them I decided to take them out into some cornstalks, to see how they would react; because I was planning to take my disc out into that cornfield in a few days.  Well, that was a mistake!  A cornstalk poked them or the sound of rustling leaves scared them, I'm not sure, but they took off as fast as they could go.  When we started to get close to a fence, I tried to turn them out into the open field by pulling hard on my left line... it broke.  I fell back into the wagon pulling on the right line and that turned them into the corner of the field and they came to a stop, unharmed.

I was shook up about it, so I took them back to my Amish friend to let him use them a little more.  We ended up having a whole string of runaway stories over the next year.  I'm saving all of that for a collection of short stories about my horses.  I have one of my short stories posted on this blog.  It is a story named, "Back In Time."  You can click on this link below.
http://amishhorses.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html

       I was so discouraged because I liked Stone and Jack a lot.
I felt like crying out "Why Lord?"  Now, years later, I know that it all turned out for the better.  I had so many great experiences, taking these boys back to my Amish friends place.  Because of my troubles, I got the opportunity to drive a six-horse hitch, on a plow and a disc (Stone and Jack in the hitch)  and many other interesting jobs.
        All of these experiences ended up as material for my book, Under the Heavens, due out later this year.

Mennonite Dairy Farm

                    I arrived at my good friend's dairy farm around 6:30 am and found morning chores going strong.  I asked Calvin if I could interview him and post a blog about his Organic Dairy Farm, he seemed happy to oblige.  I started out with the obvious, "So, Calvin, organic farming means no herbicides or pesticides?"  He shook his head yes, but added, "No toxic fertilizers either."

          Calvin opened my eyes to a whole new level of understanding.  He started by explaining, "It's not just what we don't do... but what we do."

          I was glad to be there while morning milking was being done.  I love the smell of a dairy parlor, the sight of cows calmly being milked, and the continual pulsing sound.  He continued milking cows while he explained, "Our goal is to promote life and not destroy it."  He looked over at me for a moment as if to be sure I knew how serious he takes that  life principle.  "We rotate our crops and use natural fertilizers."
He told me, "I went to a meeting in 1977 about organic farming and learned that one good handful of healthy farm soil has 3-4 billion living organisms in it, approximately the amount of people living on earth at that time." 

          Obviously that meeting struck a cord within Calvin because he  has been committed to organic farming ever since.  "The way I see it, God knew what he was doing when he put all that life in the soil... it has a purpose.  We are interested in the dynamics of our soil, healthy micro-organisms, fungi, natural bacteria and earthworms.  Earthworms are probably the most important life in the soil."  He explained how keeping the soil healthy is his goal, I perceived he believes it is his moral duty.  He communicated to me that a foundation of healthy soil produces healthy crops, resulting in healthy livestock, and healthy food for humans.

                 

           He reminded me, "the Bible says, 'You reap what you sow.'  If you put toxins in the ground what do you expect to get in return."   He quoted another verse, "... Overcome evil with good."  implying that he doesn't want to use poisons to battle the pests and weeds that all farmers struggle with.

          Calvin's philosophy of life encompasses every aspect of what he does.  I felt healthier just walking on his farm.  Drinking that healthy milk, produced by cows that have been eating hay and grain raised on healthy soil, filled with life, seems rich.  When you drink that milk you are drinking in all that commitment to a healthy cycle of farming.  

          Echo Dell farm is part of Organic Valley, Family of Farms.  Iowa City, New Pioneer Co-op sells their milk and other organically produced products.

The Road Less Traveled

Belgian horses on an Amish farm

       Everyday, when driving to work and back home, I have to choose which road I will take. There is a faster, more heavily traveled highway, or I can take a back road that is lined with Amish farms. As you might have guessed, I take the road less traveled.

       Amish buggies take that road too and I often have to wait for a horse to slowly make its way over the crest of a hill before I can pass. Yesterday, it was pouring rain and I followed an Amish teenager riding a horse. A few days back I saw a boy riding a pony, galloping along the shoulder of the road carrying a bouquet of lilacs. I wondered where he was heading at 7:30 in the morning with his flowers.
       I'm glad not everyone takes the road less traveled! (That could be a yogi-ism) It is so peaceful to be one of the few driving a gas powered vehicle. I may have to leave home a few minutes earlier, or get to work a few minutes late, usually the later of the two but I think it's worth it. When all is said and done, these little things make life so much more meaningful!

       A few days back I snapped this picture (above) with my cell-phone, so you could enjoy the moment with me! This line of Belgian draft horses was heading up toward their barn. The Amish family that owns this beautiful herd of horses obviously takes great care of them. I often see these horses in harness, doing a variety of field work. I will try to get you some pictures like that, if I can do it without offending my Amish friends.

I gave up my horses for lent!

  

                                                Took these pictures yesterday at our home place!

       Have you ever woke yourself up laughing, because you made up a joke in your dream? A few years back I used to loan my horses to my Amish neighbor quite often, he used them for field work. I must have been thinking about that in my sleep. I woke up laughing and wondered why, then I remembered my dream.
       I had been telling a buddy of mine, "I gave up my horses for lent!"  He asked me, "What do you mean?"
I told him, "I lent my horses to my neighbor and he never brought them back!