Church- 1921 or 2021?

Amish Church hasn't changed much in the past 100 years.

However, there are some changes. In 1921 the meeting would have been held inside the farmhouse. In this photo, taken on 7/18/21 the service is being held inside the white pole building just beyond the buggies.

If you notice, a strip of tin siding has been removed for the purpose of letting air move through the building. This is important for a crowd of people meeting on a hot July day in Iowa. Keep in mind, no air-conditioning, no fans. 

The gathering happens around 9:30. Buggies pull into the driveway and women and children are dropped off near the house. Dad or an older brother drives the buggy out to a green pasture and they unhitch the horse or horses. (Large families come in double buggies which have two rows of seats and require two horses to pull the larger load.)

The men gather in a circle near the barn or under a shade tree until it seems everyone has arrived. They head inside the building, single file, in order of age, eldest first. Once the men and boys have all been seated on the men's side. The women and girls begin to file in and take seats on the women's side in order of age.

 

Services will last until around noon. Everyone will file out in reverse order. The men will gather in their circle and visit quietly. Older boys will form a circle of their own and compare notes from last week's adventures on their own farms. Little boys might step inside the barn to look at a newborn calf or colt.

The women will help the host housewife bring out the meal into the pole barn which the young men have converted into a cafeteria after the morning service ended.

Everything is done in a very orderly and peaceful way. The men return inside and take seats for the meal. Plenty of pickles and cheese are likely. Homemade bread and with the Amish specialty Peanut Butter with Karo syrup mixed into a perfectly creamy consistency. After the meal, the men and older boys gather their family horses and hitch them to the buggy. They stop by and pick up the women and little children and return to their own farms for a quiet Sunday afternoon. Chore time will come soon.

A Tribute to Karma

Once in a lifetime, a special friend comes along that you'll never forget. Karma touched my life that way.  Our Karma happened to weigh in close to one ton. (2000 lbs) She could pull a plow like a tank and share a tender moment with a child. Some horses are sassy and some are skittish. Karma was a rock. She wasn't a needy horse, not begging for attention, yet she seemed to understand that humans enjoyed being in her presence. Almost as if she understood that her immense size combined with her soft muzzle and gentle disposition brought something special into the life of us much smaller humans. As though she knew people long to connect with large beasts, yet fear what damage they could do to us. She was there as an open door for that kind of interaction. 

Karma was born in 2000 on an Amish farm about 5 miles from my place. She came to live here in 2007 with another mare named, Coke. Coke was Karma's niece. She gave birth twice but both foals died mysteriously within a few days. Afterward, she tried to adopt foals away from other mares.

In 2017 I traded Coke for Karma's sister Karla. If you want to learn why I made that move, click on this link: Why Trade Horses and the sequel post Part 2 of the Trade

One good friend of ours came to visit in a wheelchair. Karla (Karma's sister) seemed nervous about the unusual wheeled vehicle. Karma came close and leaned her soft muzzle close to our wheelchair-bound friend allowing for a sweet moment of connection between them.

Good Karma

It may surprise you to know that an Amish family named their horse Karma. I don't think they had the religious term in mind. All of their horses have names starting with the K sound. 

One of my friends heard that my Karma passed away. He said, "We can't afford to lose any good karma these days."

I've posted hundreds of pictures of Karma online. She has been the heart of my Amish Horses Facebook page: Amish Horses on Facebook and of this blog: Amish Horses. The Amish Horses Blog has been viewed by individuals in almost every country of the world and has over 250,000 views.

Karma donned the covers of 4 books. These books have been read on 3 continents. Books with Karma on the cover are in homes all over America in almost every state. Karma also appeared in a TV show, Rural Heritage. The show aired twice on national television and has over 30,000 views on Youtube. Here is a link if you want to watch: Amish Horses in Print She, Karma, has never traveled over 10 miles from the Amish farm where she was born. However, without leaving the farm, she brought joy to people the world over.

Karma and Karla (her sister) are the inspiration behind the horses in my novels. I've had the pleasure of having many horses over the years, but Karma wins the blue ribbon for personality, good looks, and being the best in harness.

My granddaughters were quite willing to dress like little Amish girls for this cover pic. They were very comfortable sitting on the horses anyway. In fact, the little girls begged me to set them up on horseback every chance they got.

Not only did Karma and her teammates appear on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube, they appeared with some incredibly scenic skies. That is me with Karma and Karla under some heavenly skies.

My grandchildren developed a wonderful bond with Karma and her sister Karla. They love sitting on and giving big hugs to both horses.

They also spent hours braiding Karm and Karla's manes. 

Karma and Karla gave many wagon rides to family and friends. The horses even enjoyed a few picnics with our family. Karma showed great patience with all children visitors and she had many. She even seemed to take special care to keep them safely on board.  

Karma seemed to enjoy all of the attention she got from children. Not only could more than one child sit on her at a time, but the children could also crawl all over her back.

I wrote a short story about how I came to own the team of horses, Karma and Coke. If you are interested in reading it for free, click on this link: Back in Time

I must say goodbye to my dear friend Karma for now. However, I fully expect to see her grazing the green grasses of heaven someday.

 

Early Spring Amish Style

Spring in Amish country is a picture of hope and new life.

Winter is a time for endurance. Livestock hide inside the barn waiting for the snow to melt and uncover fresh green pastures.

At the first hint of warmer weather, Amish families prune their fruit trees and plant seedlings inside or under a glass-protected sprouting box. The young women pictured above are working together to cut excess limbs from their apple trees. This process keeps the trees from growing too tall. Shorter trees are easier to gather all the apples out of and pruning actually increases fruit production. Many apple trees in town are left unpruned and even the small amount of fruit they produce is left to rot on the limbs. 

Not much is ever waisted on an Amish farm.

If you look closely at the photo above, you will see chickens coming out of the coup in the center. Many large egg producers keep their hens inside. On an Amish farm, they are free to roam the yard and peck insects and spilled grain from under the storage bins and around feed bunks used by larger animals. In this way, even spilled or undigested grain is given an opportunity to be useful, and not wasted. Every evening the chicken are shut inside to keep them safe from foxes and opossums.

Amish people walk a lot. It is a big job to hitch up a horse, unlike turning a key in a car inside a heated garage. If the destination is not more than a mile, walking is an easier choice, and good for a person. As you can see, these young women have a distance to the nearest possible destination. 

They gave a friendly wave as I passed.

No point in offering a ride, they wouldn't take one unless they know you well.

Spring brings rainy days. Many Amish in our area cover open carts with clear plastic. This holds in a little heat and keeps the snow and rain off your lap. A light two-wheeled cart, such as this one by the stop sign, is much easier for a horse to pull. This means your horse can travel faster than in a covered top-buggy.

As the grass grows greener, cattle, horses, and sheep give birth to new life. Good farmers use animal husbandry practices to encourage calves, foals, and lambs to begin their life after snow melts and pastures green-up.

Horses, sheep, and cattle ofter share a pasture. Sunny days warm the soil and "green up" the grass. Trees begin to bud. Cloudy days water the earth and lightning adds nitrogen to the soil.

Creation is designed to reproduce life.

Notice the church wagon in the photo above. The wagon is drawn by horses from farm to farm bringing church benches, songbooks, and tableware for a Sunday gathering, or weddings and funerals. 

Each spring brings new life.

 

Cold Cold Cold

Unbelievable cold gripped the U.S.A.

Nobody felt it more than livestock and Amish farm families.

Life must go on.

Jobs are to be done. Cattle and horses need to be fed. School continues. 

Laundry washed and dried.

Even fun and games and building snowmen are part of winter life.

Some people love the cold... especially snowmen!

Windmills use sub-zero breezes the same as any other.

Errands must be run. The only heat in a buggy is body heat or a heated brick underfoot, or a potato in the pocket. 

 Spring will come. Hopefully, soon!

Late Fall

It's time to pick the last few rows of corn, clear off the garden and brace ourselves for an icy blast.

Early fall is bright and cheery with colorful leaves and pumpkins. Late fall has another type of beauty.

Iowa turns various shades of browns and tans during this season. Some call those "earth tones." There is a certain beauty in it.

Amish children romp and play outside in all weather.

Amish horses get a long break during winter months. There isn't as much fieldwork to do. Although, during winter months manure hauling gets into full swing.

With crops out of the fields, it's time to pour on nature's best fertilizer. Not to mention, the barn is full of livestock keeping warm and dry. That means more manure needs to be hauled out.

Amish like to quote this verse:

"Where no oxen are, the crib is clean: but much increase is by the strength of the ox." Proverbs 14:4

The idea is that life might seem simple if you don't have to clean out the barn. But, life is more productive if you are willing to put in the work.

Fall is also Pie Season! Pick up the last of the apples that fell because you couldn't reach the highest bow. If they are too bruised for pie, toss them to the hogs or horses.

What could be more pleasant than stepping out of blustery cold winds into a warm kitchen with pies sizzling in the oven? Cinnamon sugary filling oozing out of the edges and wafting out their perfect aroma.

Another pleasant treat is stepping inside a warm barn to be greeted by livestock. They nicker or bawl for their evening meal.

I do have two books with fall settings on the Amish farm. English River and a collection book titled Love's Thankful Heart.

English River is the third book in the Amish Horses Series but is full of fall scenes.

Love's Thankful Heart is a collection book. Laura V. Hilton, Rachel J. Good, and I collaborated, each writing a short story about Thanksgiving with an Amish setting.

If you are interested in reading these you can find them on Amazon and Barnes and Noble as eBooks and paperbacks. 

Here is the Amazon link: Thomas Nye on Amazon

Or, to order a paperback copy directly from me: Order a Book

Friends Forever

My granddaughters and my Amish horses have been friends for years.

Lyla and Kinley have built a long-lasting bond with Karma and Karla even though they live several states apart. Whenever these girls are in Iowa they run out to the barn to see their besties. 

Karma came to our acreage 14 years ago. Lyla is 10. She doesn't remember a time when Karma wasn't part of her life.

Karla and Kinley have also "claimed" each other. There is never an issue about who will hang out with whom. Their friendships are rock solid.

If you scroll down you will see pictures from many years ago. Including a photoshoot for a book cover.

Nevermind that these horses outweigh my granddaughters by almost 1800 pounds. These little girls have never shown any fear. 

Of course, they have nothing to fear because Karma and Karla dearly love them and would never do anything to harm them. I realize that accidents can and do happen. However, I am convinced that these 19 and 20-year-old mares are about as harmless as a pair of Black Labradors. 

I've witnessed Karla step carefully aside to allow a tiny kitten safe passage. She would do all the more to keep Kinely safe. 

We have lots of fun when our out-of-state friends get together.

We go for rides in the wagon and on horseback. 


  

Lyla and Kinley look so tiny seated upon their draft horse friends during this photo-shoot.

The picture below preceded my novella Whispering to Horses and inspired the little Amish girls in the book. After looking at this photo I came up with the idea to put Lyla and Kinley in Amish dresses and do a cover shoot.  

Whispering to Horses is available as an eBook through Barnes and Noble and on Amazon for $2.99

Click on this link: Whispering to Horses

Also as a paperback through Amazon or directly through me: Order a Book