Hauling Manure~

        I bought this manure spreader at the Kalona Sale Barn draft horse sale a year ago.  When I started bidding on it, I realized the Amish man I purchased my horses from was standing next to me.  He started teasing me while I was bidding, "Your not going to pull this tiny manure spreader with that big team of Percherons I sold you, are you?"
       Trying to keep my focus on the bid, I told him, "This spreader box holds all the manure I want to scoop at one time!"

       It also happens that I don't have a lot of storage space and this little manure spreader just fits in my barn.

       When I took my chainsaw to another local Amish business man, to get sharpened, we got talking about my draft horses.  He wanted to know what equipment I owned.  I mentioned my manure spreader and he asked, "Do you have any other livestock?"  I told him, "No."  He teased me, "You only need your horses for pulling the manure spreader. If you didn't have horses, you wouldn't need a manure spreader. That's like the lady that said she needed a car to get to town and they asked her why she needed to get to town and she said, 'To get gas for my car!'"

Obviously, I don't need horses; but if I'm gonna have these big horses, I sure do need a manure spreader!
Karm and Coke provide me with an escape from the pressures of the modern world and plenty of material for my Amish horse blog too.

Not to mention, some beautiful scenery in my back yard and they are awful fun to have in the barn and brush.  You haven't lived until you've stood between a team of draft horses.

My Time Machine~

        In my short story, Back in Time, I refer to my S-10 pickup as my little time machine, and myself as a time traveler.  I have also mentioned my time machine in a few of my blog posts; so, I thought I would clear up any confusion.
       If you read about my time machine, I am talking about my S-10 pickup!
 
       You may doubt that I am a time traveler.  If you saw were I work, delivering mail in Iowa City, Ia. (aka: Little New York) and where I travel, rural Kalona, you would believe me.

     

        When I leave Iowa City, Big 10 football game-day, tailgate crowds of tattooed, skimpily dressed, modern people, it's only minutes until I'm taking these cell pics of another world.  Iowa City was named number one party school recently by the Princeton Review, mentioned in USA Today.
       Driving past Amish farms, I feel as though I've slipped back into another century.  Even on my neighbors Mennonite farms, it seems I've gone back a few decades in time.
       This picture to my right was taken on my Mennonite neighbors farm. I was buying some hay and his dog jumped on board.  Dan is having a little conversation with his pooch about getting back off before the Time Machine leaves.

        Most of my cell phone pictures are cropped before you see them.  I try to take out incidental rear view mirror, side mirror and dash board sightings.  I looked through my reject pictures for a couple examples for this blog.

       I want to encourage you, my readers, to use your vehicles as time machines.  Next Saturday, or whenever you get a chance, head to the nearest Amish community; pull in a drive where a sign advertises goods for sale.

        As I have suggested before, go buy some brown eggs, sweetcorn, pumpkins, flowers or anything that is offered for sale.  Even if you don't need what your buying, the experience will be worth far more than the small price you will pay for these goods!
        When you get there, think about what decade it was, the last time someone in your family lived as these Amish do.

Road Apples and other signs your nearing Kalona

Road apples, a little nickname we Kalona people give to what horses leave behind.

Also known as buggy exhaust!

This is a good sign you are nearing Kalona.

The Cheese House, known to the locals as "The Cheese Factory"

famous for squeaky cheese curds!

A large variety of horse drawn vehicles.

This is a horse drawn sprayer. 

(vehicles like these leave road apples behind)

Signs along the road, reminding us to watch for horse drawn vehicles.

Dozens of signs advertising home grown products, almost exclusively Amish signs.

(My little time-machine S-10 pickup can be seen in this picture)

Just past the "rumble strips" you roll up to the "Four-Corners" 4 way stop.

From here you can see our famous, Puller Inn motel,

JW's grocery,

and English River Pellets.

Amish Singing

 

The word "singing" is usually a verb but to the Amish it's a noun!

         Amish young people meet on Sunday evenings, usually on the family farm where Church service was held that morning.  As soon as chores are finished, they hitch up their fastest horse and hurry to meet up with all their friends and sing hymns. These gatherings are called Singings.  The best part of the evening is giving  the girl of your choice a buggy ride home, if she accepts your invitation.

          My wife and I were out for a Sunday drive a few weeks ago and came across the location of one of these Singings.  We could hear the beautiful sound of Amish young folk's singing, coming from a large machine shed on a scenic Amish farm.  We didn't take a picture of that side of the road because there were a few people out in the yard, that didn't seem polite.  So we took a picture opposite the farm, of these buggies.

Just a half-mile away we took this picture. So you can see what a spectacular evening it was!

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.

Buggy Etiquette

       You may be thinking this blog post is about how to behave while riding in a buggy.  When I was a nineteen-year-old, single man I took my very first buggy ride.  I had become friends with an Amish family and asked one of their daughters some questions about what Singings were like.  She invited me to come along with her to a Singing the next Sunday.  She suggested I come early enough for Church and stay until evening and go to the Singing.

       When we climbed into the buggy and started down a gravel road, their horse lifted its tail and began to drop, what we in the Kalona area call "buggy exhaust" on the road.  Let me just say I wasn't used to that view!  I let out a chuckle and those teenage girls looked at me to see what was so funny.  Immediately I knew that this was part of everyday life for them and I felt like a city slicker!
       Now, years later, when I give wagon rides to friends, I am surprised that they laugh when my horses lift their tails to take care of business.  I guess it is all what you are used to!

       I actually want to address the issue of how to act around buggies.

 1) When you are in an area with horse and buggy people, please remember that they are only going a fraction of the speed of a car.

2) Remember that horses have a mind of their own and no two horses' minds are exactly alike!  A horse can act up at anytime about something as simple as a plastic bag blowing out of a ditch.  Pass carefully!

3) Understand that Amish are not trying to attract attention.  They are just living their everyday life in the way they have grown up living it.  I'm like you, very curious about it, but at the very least give them some respect and don't treat them like a circus attraction.

4) Don't ask, "Can I take your picture?"  Amish have strict rules about having pictures of people.  Every Amish group has their own rules and some Amish people have different standards.  Some may not mind you taking their picture but that is rare.  That is why I only take pictures with no faces showing.

(Those pictures in my blog of our cover photo shoot have non-Amish actors in them.  That is why those pictures were taken with faces showing.)

The Heavens Declare It

God is the artist I just have a cell phone to capture this. :)

       These are Amish cows (cows owned by an Amish farmer)

        My wife and I went out for an evening drive the other day and saw this unbelievable Iowan sunset.  I would like to recommend coming to the Kalona Iowa area and taking a scenic drive down gravel roads.  There are some great places to stop and shop too!  We have a country store, owned and run by Amish, as well as a dry good store, Stringtown.  The best donuts I've ever eaten, from Golden Delight bakery, also Amish owned.  We have Amish run greenhouses and lumberyards.  Stop in at one of our three harness shops and look around, maybe even have them make you a new leather belt.

      The Kalona area also has some great restaurants and fantastic gift shops.  I don't think anyone should come to the area without stopping at Sisters Garden and The Rug Cottage, both on Highway 1, south of Iowa City.  Petals is a really delightful little florist shop just west of Kalona in Amish country and also has home crafted art and gifts.

       Nobody comes to Kalona without stopping by the Cheese House for some squeaky cheese curds!  I am not paid by anyone to promote these places, I just love them and want to share the experience with my blog friends!

Draft Horse Sale

       Kalona Sale Barn has a draft-horse sale twice a year. On my way up to see what horse-drawn equipment was available, I saw this nice team of Percheron draft-horses. Notice the steel wheels on this Amish hay rack. This draft-horse sale is a huge event for our local Amish community and for all draft-horse enthusiasts in the area. If you have an interest in rubbing shoulders with Amish folks, check out a sale barn during this type of event.

         If you are looking for Amish Horses to buy, click on this link below.

http://amishhorses.blogspot.com/2014/04/amish-horses-for-sale.html?spref=fb

       At our sale in Kalona, Amish women set out long tables full of baked goods offered at a reasonable price. I had a big plate of snicker-doodles, but I noticed a variety of freshly baked pies on the table too. Mmmm, mmm!

       One chapter in Under the Heavens, gives a detailed account of a visit to this sale barn. I believe that if I write about things I've experienced in my own life, it will ring true. This is the place where I bought a number of wonderful draft-horses, and met some Amish horsemen that I think qualify as horse-whisperers. Just seeing 2000 pound horses, all decked out in beautiful harness, is a great experience!

Are you interested in reading a novel all about farming with horses on an Amish farm?

click on the orange words here: Under the Heavens, Amish Horses Book Series

             
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