Amish Country

On Friday we went to Ohio Amish country with our cousin. Beth and I have always been intrigued by these plain (their word, not mine) folk. They live in houses without electricity or indoor bathrooms. Some live without any running water at all. The preferred mode of transportation is horse and buggy. They do not like to be photographed and when children have dolls, the dolls are faceless. They believe these two things are graven images and against God's will. They have some of the finest and most spirited horses you can find. They purchase many of them at auctions and look specifically for former racehorses or pacers.
Dad's stepmother, the only woman we knew as Grandma Shumaker, was from Millersburg, right in the heart of Amish country. Even though she was raised in a house without electricity and on a farm, she was not Amish. She usually took us to Amish country when we came to visit. She took us in to some homes of Amish friends and I was fascinated by their simplicity and cleanliness.
Children have chores. These boys had to water the plants by their barn using a little wagon loaded with bottles of water.



This man was 'disking' with his horse. The horse was moving sideways across this large garden to the man's commands. He looked over just as I shot the picture.



This photo shows how perky some of the Amish horses are.