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!

Bountiful Harvest {Making applesauce at the Home Place}

Greetings from Robyn about the "Home Place" this warm July morning.

Growing up in the countryside by Kalona there is one sure event to take place each year; the harvesting of fresh fruits and vegetables. Last week my mom and dad (Tom the author and Shari his wife) had my boys overnight for a special treat for both me and my boys. When I went to pick them up Grandma Shari was in the process of "working up" some apples into delicious homemade applesauce. My boys had helped pick apples that morning and then Grandma got right to work. Noticing that she had hours of work on her hands I got right to work helping her.

Along with "working up" apples we worked up some memories too. As I carefully pressed the apples through the Victorio Strainer I began to reminisce of all the years I sat watching my mom and Grandma Ruby crank the apples through. When I was very little (ages 3-5) I sat opposite "helping" pull the waste from the end and guide it into the bowl thinking those mashed up seed and peels were so neat to touch and squish. As I grew older my job switched over to using a spatula to gently guide the hot applesauce to the opposite end of the pan as it poured down the spout. And then as I was a teenager my job became the cranker and masher which involves pushing scalding hot apples through the top dish while cranking to grind the seeds and peels through one end and creating smooth streams of hot applesauce out the main spout.

The best part of "working up" apples is the opportunity for women of all ages to sit and have conversation with each other which usually involves stories of the women in past generations doing the same. For instance, I think that every time since I was a little girl the story of my Great Grandma Kinsinger having a Victorio Strainer tip and pour scalding hot apples on her arm and burning her badly was topic of discussion when asking us to stand back while the apples were transported to the strainer.

And then, there are the memories of that big bowl (or two or three) of warm applesauce with heaping spoonful's of sugar on top, sometimes resulting in a tummy ache from over-indulgence. The hum of box fans ring clear in my memory too as the kitchen heats up quickly from the apples on the stove top in mid-July. As well as the sweet aroma of fresh warm applesauce that lingers through the entire farm house, always keeping your tummy hungry for more.

Take a peek at the process.

Starting with the beautiful blooms in the trees earlier this spring. We knew that there would be a bountiful harvest.

 

 

 

 

One of the 6 bags full of apples that the boys picked with Grandma Shari.

Apples soaking in the sink, waiting to be cut and stemmed then boiled.

Scalding hot and straining the extra liquid out just before being put into the Victorio Strainer.

And the process begins. . .

Even the "waste" is pretty to look at with the shades of green and brown and red. This also makes great compost for the garden!

And the bowls and bowls of applesauce waiting to cool then be mixed with sugar and poured into freezer bags for yummy applesauce all year round.

Why add sugar? Well, just ask my oldest son Alex! After offering him a bowl of freshly made sauce he turned it down saying it was too green and he wanted the jar of the unsweetened sauce from the grocery store. I asked him why? When this is so yummy? A couple of days later I told him he needed to try it one more time because I think that he is missing out! After adding in a "touch" more sugar he licked the bowl clean! He said "Mom, those apples must have just been a little too green and after sitting in the fridge for a couple of days the applesauce must have "ripened" up!" Haha! Pretty cute logic coming from an almost 6 year-old. The texture is what makes homemade sooooo good and the sugar helps balance the sour from the green apples.

I hope you enjoyed seeing the process we use to make homemade applesauce. Although I am sure Amish would not freeze their applesauce but can it instead. Which involves even more work and another process in addition to "working up" the apples.
Mom ended having up with 60 quarts of applesauce that remains stocked in the deep freeze for all of use to enjoy!

all photos in this post are:  ©RubyEllenPhotography 2013

One Room School

          My step-mother used to teach in a one-room Amish school.  She did a fantastic job and stays in touch with many of her students and teacher aids. (who were also Amish)  Her teacher aids were a great help, especially because her kindergarten students often didn't know English.

          This turned out to be a great experience for me too!  I really enjoyed going to spring music programs and other events.  My mom constantly tried to come up with fun learning experiences for the children.  On one occasion, she told the oldest boys that if they put out good effort, at the end of a quarter, her son Tom would take them on a field trip.  The boys seemed excited about it, even though it was a unique twist.
        They succeeded in their endeavors

and so I came and picked them up in my car... to take them to see my horse.  I had a half Arabian, half Quarter Horse, riding mare at the time.  She was a great horse but probably not anything too special for those 7th and 8th grade Amish boys to look at.  They seemed to be having fun.  They politely showed interest in my horse, and were really happy when we stopped for ice cream.

          I had to think that it would be like taking an average, modern kid in a buggy to go see an ordinary car!

Happy Fourth of July {Horses make the Parade}

As a girl growing up in a home with a dad (Tom) who loves horses you learn what to watch for in the parade. Today I took my own family to a fourth parade and captured the two horse teams in our parade. Pretty to look at, strong and bold. There is something so great about seeing horses in harness. Have a blessed and safe holiday!

 

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.

A little girl after her Grandpa's own heart. . .

There is a special connection between a girl or a grandpa and their horses. I don't know whether or not it is a born-in-trait or something that's learned but at any rate it's unavoidable to recognize. I captured this special little horse-lovin'-granddaughter playing, playing, reading horses all day yesterday at Grandpa and Grandma's house (that has no lack of horses for that matter).

 

 

I really can't see how it could be any sweeter than this.
 

  all photos on this post are ©RubyEllenPhotography 2013

Dusk on the Farm {A story through Pictures}

I always love going out to "the farm" to spend time with my mom and dad and siblings. There is something I miss about coming home after a ball game and sitting on the porch swing, watching for fireflies, enjoying the sunset, weeding the garden and watching the horses. I had the privilege of sneaking by for a couple of minutes after my brother's ball game last night. So pretty.

 

 

Dusk on the farm... A sight to behold.

 all photos are ©RubyEllenPhotography 2013