Amishway Homesteaders

What a wonderful Day I am having!

Left early to go to the Amish Farm we help with Farmers Market and picking on the farm, and today was the start of thrashing day! Poor Lori had to go to work at Library but she will be there after 5 pm as we will be trashing until 8pm tonight. I am just home long enough to rest a bit (very hot out there but a breeze so that helps – but eh sun gets to me)

So I get there and they have already have gone down to the big barn to get the thrasher ready to go but Ben is back at shop to fix a strap. Hey he says, want to drive the horses back down to the boys? YES! So I got to drive the 2 horse team and wagon across the fields out back to the thrasher.

Back it right in so we can hook it up they say. NOT if you want the barn doors to stay on I say. So Joseph gets on and does that part and off we go to the oat field that was cut and stacked last week – they (oat stacks) are very dry and ready to be thrashed. I hope off the wagon when we get onto the middle of the field and helped ‘park’ the old McCormick Thrasher so we can hook up all the belts (11 in all) to make it work and we also had to unfold some parts to get it ready.

They took a break and I headed home for a rest.

Later I have to go back and help toss the oat stacks onto wagons and bring to the thrasher. Then my job will change and I help toss the stacks (using hay fork) into the machine to separate the oats, chaff and other stuff before it is bagged or put on wagon to go back to barn.

I am so tired! .......................... But having so much fun!

I was born too late in life BUT thank God for being able to work with the Amish that still do things “the old way”.

Since I was up at 4am anyway did get to see some Thunder Bloomers, and then rain started in a little bit. Then another Thunder Boomer and it stopped!

So I guess they called for rain today and THAT was IT?

There are small puddles on the road but nothing that big.

Grass is still so brown and dead we can hear it crunch as we walk on it.

......................... Also IF you join S.A.G. you can't have a name that someone else has?

So when Mike Douglas wanted to join he had to go as Michael Douglas instead.

Now that I started typing I forgot all the real of them I know?

I know all this is just TMI for most - but for me anyway it was fun knowing them.

Now THAT'S a list of books!

Speaking of 'listening' to books -

Sometimes IF a book is a real thinker or hard to keep straight I too get it on audio to listen too. BUT, I also get the book out and sit in my rocker and follow along with what is being said. For some reason I remember the book better that way? Also if it is a technical book (Stephen Hawking's books come to mind) it helps with all the weird words. LOL

CUTE!

We like to tell people that ask if we hang clothes outside that yes we do ....................

On our Solar Clothes Dryer!

Takes them a bit to see that it is our Clothesline!

If they get it at all - some think we DO have a solar Dryer out in the back yard?

Called for rain today...............................

and it started at 8:45 am!

About 17 drops per minute for about 1 1/2 minutes!

So let’s see that would be about 1/15457 thousands of an inch for the week!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They called for rain tonight but here I sit Dry as a bone?

Had a nice 'day trip' today visiting different Amish Shops in area (120 miles).

Everywhere we went they were talking about how dry it is and IF we don't get long rain soon.......................

For the most part.............................

Soap is soap is soap!

In a pinch you can wash whatever with whatever you have on hand.

Yes hair shampoo may have 'special' stuff in it for conditioning but in a pinch.................

IF you want a laugh go read the very old P & G soap wrapper.

It lists all the things it will clean from dishes to rugs to hair to bath with to walls to kids to floors to clothes and on an don and on.

Love the Dilly Beans!

And here is a hint for all who are canning this year......................

IF you are trying a new recipe this year - make a copy of it or write down where you got it. (We have a little photo album that we put ALL recipes we used this year Old and new and list what we used it for and dates canned)

That way when we start to use them come the winter or next year IF it didn't do as good as we were hoping, we can go back and see what we did and cross that recipe out (but keep it so we don't use it again.

Have one you really liked when you used the first few cans? Take the time to add a little not to that recipe page about what you liked. This way Next Year you will only be canning the BEST of the Best!