Wednesday, June 27, 2012

country neighbours...

 On our last day in Iowa...
we hopped into my brother's buggy Ford Expedition...
and went touring in his neighbourhood.


Not everyone in Iowa drives a Ford.
Some get around just fine in a one-horse open buggy.

I love visiting the Amish neighbourhood...


...and snooping around in their store.
Though I never came home with any furniture or pickled eggs...
I did bring back some treats for grands that will be re-sold at their candy store this summer.
(Summer...coming soon, we hope!)

From laundry on the line...


...to weed-free expansive gardens


...every scene was a calendar photo waiting to be taken.


It's a simpler way of life...
though it seems like a lot of hard work to me.

When my 10-year-old niece saw all the children working in the gardens...
she was thankful for her lot in life.

Her lot includes swim meets and computers.


Hard work...for sure.
But how picturesque!

One more stop...
while we were touring the neighbourhood...
was the Pioneer Cemetery...
complete with hitching posts at the road.


My sister-in-law's ancestors have lived in this area for ever...it seems.
Many who are buried here bear the name Brownell.
The farm that they live on...
also belonged to Brownell's a very long time ago.
Their roots run deep!

While we were touring the countryside...
Andrew was at home...
stirring the dinner on occasion...
as his mother had instructed.
Or so they thought...


...until we rounded the bend near Bill's farm and saw Andrew's vehicle out by the creek.
Swimming in the creek on a very hot day...
was much more appealing than stirring the pot..
it seems.

Megan was out of the vehicle in a flash...
and into the creek...
clothes and all.

What fun!

And that ends my tour of Iowa until next time.
I'll leave you with one last photo...


...taken when we were in Iowa in 1986.
It seems we lost our way...
and needed to stop a passerby to ask directions back then.


This time we had no trouble in finding our way around...
thanks to the amazing GPS.


17 comments:

  1. Now that store makes me want to go riding to find the Mennonite store we have not too far off. Similar goodies.

    I love visiting Amish country. Haven't done it since the 1970s. Perhaps it is time. As you say, every scene a post card or calendar material. Exquisite gardens and lawns! Hopefully, that whole "many hands make light work" thing works for all the Amish kiddos.

    Your nieces and nephews are smart ones! Hope that the meal didn't stick in the pot. ;>

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  2. Amish-ville is a nice place to visit but, I'm with you it is a lot of hard work.

    The creek looks very refreshing we have been in the triple digits for a week now here in Okla.

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  3. These photos replicate the area around Kitchener/Waterloo and I agree about the postcard around every corner. The Amish and the Old Order Mennonites have a work ethic that we would do well to emulate.

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  4. Wonderful photos. We have driven through Pennsylvania's Amish country and it is so beautiful. There are old order Mennonites near here in Woodstock and they run a huge farm. They do work very hard without many modern conveniences.

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  5. Wonderful pictures. I miss riding in the wagon with my grandpa...he used it when the truck was available just preferred it...lovely photos...thanks for sharing
    Sandi

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  6. Oh what fun. I loved every photo Judy! I'm sitting here thinking I need to visit some quiet countrysides next but not in the summer! Dear and I need to plan a vacation that doesn't involve a conference or wedding next...

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  7. Your pictures reminded me of our Lancaster trip last summer. Oh, I loved it there!

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  8. I love all your photos, Judy!

    Yes it does look like a simple, but hard life, but the Amish persevere in their beliefs and seem happy, don't they? I love their home made goods. my favorite item to buy from the Pennsylvania Amish was apple butter and "shoofly (molasses) pie". They made it the best!

    I'm sure you were amazed by how flat Iowa is!

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  9. Great pictures, Judy!
    We have Amish communities here in PA, too. In fact our garage was built by an Amish company. What a great job. We really enjoyed the whole process.
    Hard workers, disciplined, fine people.

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  10. Great pictures! I do admire the Amish. They are are not ashamed to be different, and in their case, that's a good thing!

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  11. We have close friends who used to live in Amish country in PA. We travelled there with them once and they introduced us to their Amish neighbours. My daughter had a wonderful time carrying around the Amish babies. And we were treated to shoofly pie :) It was a lovely time.

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  12. Some amazing shots...I'd rather be in the creek than stirring the pot any day. Those Amish know how to live in such a peaceful setting and it seems like all work and no play. Quite different to what we are introduced to.

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  13. You make Iowa look very picturesque indeed. My grandmother's family were Iowa Quakers, but I've never had the pleasure of visiting that state (yet).

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  14. I shopped at an Amish store in Blue Ball PA when we lived there in the 70's. This was before every grocery store had a bulk section, and I loved going there to buy all my staples in bulk - and to have a piece of pie!

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  15. Great photos of the Amish countryside and way of life. Your grandchildren will enjoy the treats - hope some survive until the sale.

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  16. Calendar pictures for sure! I'd love to take a trip to that country.

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  17. This post looks like you would have visited my part of the world and took many pictures. Really, I can't tell you the similarities that we have with Iowa. The pictures of the "Jake and Amos" canned goods is a company that our friends started about five miles from our home. I could not believe it when I saw those jars. Beautiful country! Thanks for sharing it all with us.

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'The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it.'
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson