Amish Garden Tour

 The sun rises on an Amish farm and garden near Shipshewana, Indiana.

As an author of Amish fiction, driving down country roads in Amish country is very inspiring! I'm mostly looking for draft horses. However, I've learned to appreciate the gardens I see while looking for Amish horses. I decided my blog followers might enjoy a tour of Amish gardens.

 Hoop buildings are popular on Amish farms. They can be used for livestock and equipment. Notice the grapevines in this photo. The sweet corn made more beautiful with a flower bed.

 This entire field of corn has been lined with flowers. Maybe these flowers ward off bugs? That is one reason Amish line their gardens with certain types of flowers. If you want to know more about what types of flowers work like that, ask an Amish person or google it. I'm sorry but I'm an author and a horse person, not a gardener. I don't know the answer.

 This farm near Kalona, Iowa fits my ideal of a perfect Amish farm. As with most Amish farms, there are multiple gardens, fruit trees, and grapevines.

 This Amish farm has a church wagon in the drive. Since Amish church is moved from farm to farm they use wagons carry benches, songbooks, and tableware from farm to farm.

As with many Amish gardens, good luck finding a weed. I passed by this farm near Arthur, Illinois twice. The first time there was a teenage girl sitting between the rows working. I didn't feel like I should take her pic. She finished her work and headed inside before I came back by.

This is one of my favorites garden pics. A very common sight in Amish country... families working in the garden together. This picture was taken near my home in Iowa. I didn't mind the pic of people because they are facing the other way and hard to identify.

 Another classic Amish farm scene. Wagonload of hay in front of the silo. Grapevines on the side.

We have flower sales in the Kalona area. I love seeing horse-drawn wagon-loads of flowers heading into the auction barn. (Is this France?)

Pastels

 Another garden lined with pink flowers.

And the finished product: Strawberry pie.

I have more garden photos on my Amish Horses Facebook page.

If you are a Facebook person, click on this link.

Amish Gardens on Facebook

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Horse Progress Days (a mouse in the corner)

 Have you heard the expression-- I wish I could be a mouse in the corner? Well, I lived that out this past weekend at the Horse Progress Days in Arthur, Illinois.
The Horse Progress Days are organized by the Amish, and most of those attending are from "Plain Mennonite" or Amish groups that vary considerably based on local and group standards. As an "English" person, I feel very welcomed and included. Yet, somehow, it makes me feel sad to be there in my "Worldly clothes." It's not because anyone treats me bad... but instead because they treat me so well. Let me explain. There are plain people at these events from all over the U.S. and even some from Canada. Many groups are represented, and they all have different rules and dress, yet more in common than not. They live and dress by conviction, and if you don't think it makes a difference in the lives of their children, you need to come and see for yourself. The children are incredibly well behaved and polite. This is true even for teens and young adults. I feel sad to be the one representing the world that they have chosen to abstain from. Mainly because I believe they are doing the right thing for their children by living this simple and plain lifestyle. I want to promote it. That is why I write books about their world.

 I sat at my book-signing table and observed this little "Train-ride" that happens to be horse-drawn. They loaded and unloaded children right outside my tent. Talk about cute! These children look adorable in their miniature Amish clothes. They waited patiently in 95degree temps with high humidity without fussing or complaining. Their mothers and dads waited on their little ones with smiles, quietly visiting in Pennslyvania Dutch.

 I don't know how old the boy is that is Roman riding on a team of ponies, but he was amazing. I think he was practicing to display his ponies in front of a crowd, but I happen to pass by and capture this shot with beautiful clouds behind him.

This is my book-signing booth with my bedroom behind it. (a tent)
Many friendly and kind-hearted Amish people stopped and looked at my books. Many bought copies. Yet, I found myself worrying that my books will disappoint or offend in some way. That is totally not my goal, but somehow it feels inevitable. What the average American sees as G rated, Amish view as improper for children. My books deal with some serious topics; that is why I write. So, I don't feel I can make them "Childproof" even though my goals are positive.

 The weather was strange... which is typical this year. The sky did some beautiful things and some terrible things. We had an incredible wind storm that lasted for almost a half-hour. We took on two inches of rain.
During the storm, I was in our huge white tent with around 40 people, most of them from plain backgrounds. We all literally held onto the tarp or structure frame, trying to keep it from blowing over. A friendly teenage Amish young man joined me at my station, holding a center post. We watched a young Amish couple at the next post over, doing their part. They had three totally adorable little blond girls who looked scared but sat quietly in a wagon. When the storm passed, I chatted with the couple and girls. They were all three enjoying suckers that a vendor in our tent gave them. The little blonds with chocolate brown eyes all smiled at me while I talked to their parents. The baby- maybe around 1year-old offered me a taste of her sucker, which I politely declined. Her mama said, "This is her first try at a sucker." Her daddy said, "After visiting with you, I feel we should buy one of your books." You couldn't meet nicer people.

 Once the wind and rain subsided, the event ended for the day while everyone tried to clean up their booths. Visitors with cars, pickups, and vans were almost all stuck in a muddy field. I instinctively knew that meant teams of horses would be pulling them out. I headed to the parking lot and helped a little but mostly observed as around eight teams of horses assisted those in need. It was a fantastic thing to witness, and I'd love to write a book about it. One Amish lady standing near me said what I was thinking, "Watching this was about as much fun as watching the organized events."

I took these pictures of some of the horse-drawn farm equipment on display. It all looks fascinating to other draft horse enthusiasts and me. I think the rest of you will enjoy the photos for the sake of beauty.

The centerpiece of this bottom picture is a horse-drawn hay-baler, hooked to a hitch cart with an engine to power the baler that would typically be driven by a tractor. (Be sure to notice the beautiful Amish farm in the background.)

I wouldn't have missed this event for anything, yet I almost wished I could have hidden like a mouse in the corner. Better yet, I wish I could be one of them, at least during the Horse Progress Days.

Author Thomas Nye with Rural Heritage TV

This Crazy Weather

 My wife and I took a trip to the Iowa/Missouri border last Friday, May 24th. We were headed to an Amish community near Bloomfield, Iowa. We enjoyed the day, and I'll share some pics on my Amish Horses Facebook page. However, something bigger than our day-trip held my attention.

Iowa and more of the mid-west is in a terrible way with our weather.

We had tickets to a play in the Amana Colonies that evening and got back home just in time to change clothes. Our iPhones shouted alerts at us about a funnel cloud approaching our location. When I looked out the window, this is what I saw!

    We were quite relieved when that funnel cloud passed by and we headed outside to go to the play. I looked to our East and LO there I could see that a tornado had touched the earth.

I zoomed my pic so you can see the funnel on the ground.

    We quickly started calling and texting friends and family to check on everyone. Our good friends, Church and small group buddies, and neighbors of four miles (that's close neighbors in our rural mindset) sustained severe damage to their business Frytown Trailers. Please pray for them as they lost many and it's quite a challenge to regroup, repair, and replace what was damaged.

 Tornados are awful and fearful. However, what might be more damaging than those powerful winds are tiny droplets of rain. We have had so many multiple billion droplets, and they haven't stopped falling!

Every field is a muddy mess. This gate entrance at my place is not usually a marsh!

My horses are glistening wet after another downpour.

The clouds in this first pic are awe-inspiring, but what you might not have noticed is the water laying on the land below. Farmers have been forced out of the fields, and time is ticking. The window of opportunity for spring planting is closing soon. Pray for our farmers!

Samson and Amish Delilah: Cover Reveal

 Scroll down to see the full cover!


Official release date: August 19th.



I'm more excited than I can say about this book. It is quite different from anything else I've written.

Below: the binding and back cover

A Story of clashing cultures, hearts laid bare, and the power of forgiveness.

Delilah steps out of the pages of a bestselling Amish novel and into the real world. When media giants discover that she's alive and well, the race to find her is on. A young man named Dave sets out with inside information, hoping to get to her first and cash in. He's as surprised as everybody that there's more than one Amish Delilah-- can he be sure that he's found the right girl?

Dave searches the pages of the novel to be certain he has the right Delilah. Real life begins to merge with fiction and Dave suddenly realizes that he has fallen into the story and become Samson. Worse yet, he fears he is on a collision course with the novel's wild ending.

Cultures collide as big media comes face-to-face with Amish family values. Dave and Delilah are caught in a vice between two worlds. Will they sell out for the almighty dollar?

Coming soon in paperback and eBook 

August 19th

2019

To order your copy click here: Amazon: Samson and Amish Delilah

Direct from the Publisher:CrossLink: Samson and Amish Delilah

Amish Ice Hockey

Last Monday, March 4th, I drove to Kalona, heading to the horse sale. Kalona Sale Barn has a horse sale on the first Monday of every month.

My 10-mile drive to town takes me through as many miles of Amish-farm country. I passed by several Amish schools and noted that the children were all having fun with an outdoor recess. Keep in mind, the temps were in single digits and there happen to be a cold wind.

These Amish children were blessed with a naturally formed hockey rink. Our Iowa winter has been brutal this year, with lots of freezing rain followed by extremely cold temps. When life gives you lemons... make lemonade! When winter gives you icy fields... play ice hockey!
Amish children love to sled and ice skate. The temperature doesn't seem to keep them inside. The other morning, I passed by an Amish farm on my way to work at 7:00 am and noticed some Amish boys getting in a little sledding before they had to head to school.

I'll share a picture taken at the horse sale. These teenage Amish girls seemed to be enjoying a relaxing afternoon watching horses pass through the sale-ring. Amish children only go to school through 8th grade.

Shades of Blue

How about a few winter scenes from Amish country?


This horse is enjoying the power of solar heat on a chilly morning.


Note: people often panic about how cold horses must be. Keep in mind that they, like deer, buffalo, cattle, moose and other creatures, have built-in defenses for all weather conditions.
Fortunately, horses and cattle have people providing them with food, open water, and shelter. Deer, buffalo and other wild animals have to fend for themselves.

 Snow and cold make farm life difficult. Amish people don't let it keep them from doing what must be done.

 Many hands make light work.

 Dashing through the snow.

 Winter shades of blue and gray with a hint of fire!

 Horses know how to stay out of the wind and how to use solar power.

 Sometimes you have to shovel around a gate to get the thing open!