Last minute shopping

Actually I took this the day before Thanksgiving, a mom doing some last minute shopping in the family station wagon with the little kids in tow. Amish style. If you are a busy mom, imagine taking care of all that - and the horse, too.

Horse and Buggy Days

On Labor Day for the Bridge Walk the Woman's club handed out a brochure/passport for the bridges. A comment on it read, "In the early 1900s South Main Street was named Flint Avenue. It was "The Avenue", a lovely shaded street during the hose and buggy days."

Whoah on the nostalgia -- although the trees seem to have been street-widened away, with Amish about the area, the horse and buggy days never left!

Snowy highway

Taken on the first (yesterday) in advance of last night's big storm. We were fortunate, maybe only a foot of snow, but it's blowing around. The driveway is a problem.

Horse Waits in Snow

At least he has a blanket!

Big Ice

Stepping out of the car at Meyer-Broadway Park, I discovered that the snow had melted and refrozen so that everything was slippery and slick. The dogs didn't care, and I kept to snowy areas where I could break through the crust. An empty park and a nice quiet walk - when a couple of van-loads of Amish teenagers showed up and tore off to the top of the big, icy tubing hill. Some didn't even bother with the tubes, just threw themselves down on the ice and rocketed to the bottom. Faster than a speeding buggy!

Changes

The horse and buggy SUV has changed into Jeeps and such. The Amish family that came to town yesterday for some shopping parked their buggy here, and also unhitched their horse and tied him to a tree. That's the real advantage of the modern vehicle, you don't have to remove the engine and tie it to a tree when you park. Also, when you come back to your vehicle, the engine isn't mad at you for leaving it waiting in the snow.

Thursday changes into Friday, December changes into January, 2009 changes into 2010, the first decade of the 21st century changes into the second. Other changes may be internal and more subtle.

Happy New Year, may there be good new beginnings for all.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants in the CityDailyPhoto January Theme Day, "Changes".

Passing by

On the highway yesterday, in traffic, we were passed by -- a horse-drawn Amish buggy! Old order, best in black & white. In the background is a gas (petrol) station -- something the oat-burner gets to skip.


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The Monochrome Weekly has more of the world in monocrome; take a look at http://monochromeweeklytheme.blogspot.com/.

Farmers Market

A drizzly, windy day found the vendors at the Three Rivers Farmers Market hanging tarps behind their stalls in the Farmers Market Pavilion. Lots of apples in bushel baskets, Northern Spy, Cortland, and some other heirloom varieties, along with chestnuts, squash, and all sorts of pumpkins. Worth braving the chill for!

Here are some of the Amish baked goods and pickles also on sale. Next to this table, a couple sells their own local farm-raised meats.


My 100th Daily Photo!

News flash: horses poop

Breaking local news as reported by our ever watchful newspaper.

Another paper reports that the state is now pulling out twenty miles of newly installed "rumble strip" in the area - uneven pavement at the edge of the road that makes a loud noise when you drive over it, the theory being that it will prevent sleepy drivers from crashing into the ditch. Alas, it frightens the horses -- causing buggy crashes!

Three Rivers' Farmers' Market

A soggy day, hot and humid, with more buyers than sellers at the Farmer's Market! Taken from across the St. Joseph River. One Amish buggy, two ducks, and lots of cars. Oh and some nice peppers, tomatoes (finally ripe!), and muskmelons.

August 1, Three Rivers Farmers' Market

An Amish family (old order, horse-and-buggy people) that sell their produce at the Farmers' Market tie up their horse in the shade of some big oaks by the St. Joseph River. Across the water is a park and the local canoe livery. This area has a very large Amish population, not on the usual tourist track.