Amish Barns & Changing Times

This past weekend

hubby and I

took a little trip to

Amish country to have supper

at the 

 Carriage Crossing Restaurant

in Yoder Kansas. 

It's not far...only about

20 miles away

and it's a pretty drive with 

a few rolling hills.

Most trips we are 

rewarded by seeing Amish 

buggies traveling down the road

but on this day sadly there were none.

We thought we'd do a bit of shopping

in the little town before we ate but

by the time we got there

the stores were closing.

It was 4:30 on a Saturday!

It's a sleepy little town

but the restaurant stays open

until 9pm.

 

The only two buggies we saw were

tied up to hitching posts but 

there were a lot of tractors in town

with trailers attached

and a large group of Amish enjoying

a meal under the roof behind

the post office.

 

See the tractor with the home made trailer

behind it in the picture above? 

 The Amish seem to be using this mode

of transportation more and more in this area.

Inside you will find chairs benches or

automobile seats that can be removed.

We even saw a child's car seat

in the back of a horse trailer pulled by 

a tractor. 

This day we saw a tractor

with no trailer

carrying an Amish family consisting of

mom dad and at least 4 children

driving down the road.

They were all hanging on to something

and to each other.

I felt a little sad to see them

traveling this way instead of in their

buggy but it was about 94 that day

so maybe it was their way of 

saving the horse from the heat. 

We enjoyed our supper and 

headed home.

 

Along they way we pass a tiny

Amish church and graveyard.

I was told by a sweet Amish lady

one day that this was a 

church that was holding to the old

ways. They were not allowing

rubber tires on their tractors or

any farm wagons...they must be

metal. She said the congregation

was declining. 

There is a larger Amish church

closer to town and I suppose

this is where those that 

want to 'modernize'

attend.

 

The old church

I realize that certain things make

life easier for all of us including

the Amish...

but to me it would be a sad day

if we no longer saw

these sweet people traveling the

roads with their beautiful 

horse and buggies.

It's nice to know that there are

those out there who still

live that simple old fashioned

way of life.

I'm linking to 

Barn Charm

Heritage Days in Amish Country Pt 2

Sorry it took me so long to 

do part 2 of

Heritage Days In Amish Country.

(if you missed it you can see Part 1 here)

There were so many pictures

to choose from it was hard to 

decide which ones to leave out!

After Hubby and I watched the parade

and the buggy races that day

we headed home to take

a nap.

We're getting old...what can I say.

;-)

We went back later in the afternoon

just in time to see the

horse games.

On the way over to the horse grounds

we stopped to listen to some

blue grass music.

They had different groups playing

off and on all day

which was really nice.

The horse games were fun to watch.

Amish and 'English'

adults and children all joined in

for some good old fashioned fun.

This woman and her horse were

fascinating to watch... 

The rider was fearless...the horse tried hard.

In the above picture she is trying to get that 

grain sack into a barrel

but her horse wasn't having any of it .

Below she finally gave up 

since she was being timed and

moved on to the next obstacle.

Next was to cross what they called

a cattle crossing.

He did much better with that.

Next they had to kick that big ball

through a goal post.

They made good time with that one.

They then had to run over to a pen...

untie a pony and...

....hand the pony off to the little

Amish boy.

They then ran over to a stack of straw bales...

...where she had to lift the top bale 

and carry it over to another pile and

set it on top...with out dropping it

or knocking the pile over.

They did great!

Next she had to race over to a log

and get her horse to jump it.

As you can see ....he had no trouble 

with that at all.

There were a lot of competitors 

in this race.

The little fellow who was handed

the pony rope each time

proudly lead his

steed away

when that part of the competition was over.

They then had a different course to master.

Plastic bags moving in the wind 

seemed to really make some of the horses

nervous. This young fellow was riding

a nice little horse who liked to jump.

The same girl I photo'd before

had a good jump here!

This fellow above rode a small mule...

I have never seen another animal

try so hard for it's master.

These two had a ball

and they were in just about every

competition there was!

This young 'momma to be'

was in a few events.

In this one she was dragging a log

through an obstacle course...

she was very careful.

The photo above was of a hilarious

event where two teams of two

riders entered the ring...

one pulling a pack horse.

The pack horse is loaded up with 

camping gear and each team has to 

unload the gear...stake out the horses...

set up camp with bedding and chairs

and then split wood until

they have 10 pieces for a fire.

Then they have to run to a bucket

and get water for coffee.

They don't have to start a fire or make coffee!

Then they have to sit and drink "coffee"...

get onto sleeping bags then pack up

camp and race back to the finish line!

The picture above was all I had room for

and you can see they were having fun

as gear spilled out of their packs as they 

trotted to their camps.

I was laughing so hard...you 

didn't know which team to look at

as everything was happening at once

and so fast!

The next games were

fun to watch too.

This little fellow stood on a barrel

and waited for his daddy to come and 

get him.

He stood on that barrel 

so straight and tall

and totally trusted his 

daddy to pick him up

and swing him onto the horse.

And off they raced to the finish line!

Calf roping was next and it

was a 'free for all'!

See the cowboy on the left?

He's the fellow riding the mule.

You can see his lasso he threw

just in front of him.

Regular cowboys having fun.

Who says you have to ride 

a horse to be a cowboy!

Last but by not least by any means

was the

'broom polo'.

Now this is where the Amish

really show their fun and 

competitive spirit!

This young man in the blue shirt

above and below

could really ride that horse...

he was all over that ball

and his horse!

Even the cowboy couldn't keep

up with him.

I bet each and everyone of those

people slept well that night.

It was a wonderful day.

It's hard to believe that it's 

over for another year. 

It's sad to see it end ...but next week

is the State Fair.

Funnel Cakes

here I come!

:-)

Is your State Fair 

happening soon?

Heritage Days In Amish Country Pt 1

On Saturday we went to the tiny farming town

of Yoder Kansas where they were celebrating

'Heritage Days'.

This is a small rural town that has a large

Amish community

in the surrounding country side.

You can always tell an Amish

homestead by the lack 

of electrical lines

leading from the roadside

to the farm and there is 

usually a buggy or two

in sight.

You are pretty much guaranteed to

see a horse and buggy trotting

along the country roads

the closer you get to

the town.

Above is a typical sight when you drive

through Yoder.

On this day we were greeted by this

friendly fellow.

He was the traffic controller

as people came from all over to watch the

parade and catch the buggy races

and other fun events that were on that day.

Now how many towns have you been to

where the roads are scared up from

horse and buggies???

We arrived about half way through the

parade....for a small town they have a 

VERY large turnout as people enter

from all over the State and some even 

come from other States. 

Here are a few of the sights we enjoyed.

This lady was riding a huge mule!

I've always been very careful about taking

photo's of the Amish as I know many of 

them don't appreciate you photographing

their faces. 

There are two groups of Amish

in this area...one group is more

conservative than the other.

I was surprised by all the Amish who 

took part in the parade and other

activities where people 

were snapping pictures all over the place.

They didn't seem to mind at all.

Once I saw that I felt it was ok to snap away.

This little Amish girl enjoyed riding on 

grandpa's tractor in the parade.

See the tractor below?

It's MUCH larger than the photo shows.

Look at who is driving this monster!

And he was in the cab alone!

After the parade we headed over

to where the buggy races

were going to take place.

No these big guys weren't in the races!

The people were just starting to line

the road where the races were to take place.

Last year we stood over there in the sun

but this year it was 101 in the shade so we 

decided to sit under the trees on the bleachers.

See the house in the background?

It's an Amish home

and if you enlarge the photo 

you'll see a lot of the Amish gathering

to watch the races.

By the time things started you couldn't see 

the road at all!

Taking time to relax between races.

We headed home before the races 

were over but we went back later to

enjoy the music, kettle corn

and watch the fun.

This Amish couple was heading 

heading home too.

I think we're very lucky to live so close

to these friendly people.

Part 2 coming soon!

Maura :)