Amish Farm Mosaics

I really thought these corn shocks were cool.

“One of the most well-known ways of taking in corn is through shocking it. The first step is for the farmer to drive his team of horses, pulling a machine called a binder which cuts the cornstalks off close to the ground. The binder then makes bundles of corn which must be gathered by hand and stacked up in a teepee-style pile. Although the cornstalks are now dry, the corn is probably not dry enough to be stored safely. The whole idea is to prevent the corn ears from falling on the ground and absorbing moisture. When the corn is dry, it will be gathered on a wagon and either shucked by hand or run through the corn picker.”

I’ll be linking up to The Barn Collective at Tom the Backroads Traveler and to Mosaic Monday with Maggie at Normandy Life.

ht: Dutchman News

The Plain People

Plain people are Christian groups characterized by separation from the world and by simple living, including plain dressing. This is a very simple definition of Plain People.

This is a photo full post with most of the pictures of Plain People I captured in the Amish/Mennonite Communities in parts of Indiana and Holmes County Ohio.

This photo is a drive-by snap of a Barn Sale.

Ending with this school yard photo of the children at recess.

I’m linking up to ABC Wednesday for P is for Plain People with thanks to Mrs. Nesbitt and Roger plus the ABC team.

Since these photos are mostly from farming communities I’m also linking up to The Barn Collective with Tom the Backroads Traveller.

Fall is living up to it’s name in our yard. Dear went out and rustled up all the leaves this morning and then the winds came and there are more leaves than before on the ground. That is the price we pay for the beauty of our changing seasons. It’s worth it.

As I type I’m watching more leaves fall and it’s a lovely sight.

A Church in a Barn…

When were were driving the Heritage Trail on a Sunday in Indiana it didn’t take us long to figure out that there was a church gathering happening in a room in this barn.

All the horses were unhitched from their buggies.

At one point a fussy little one had to be taken out to the buggy for something to soothe the tears.

I’m linking up to…

InSPIREd Sunday with Beth and Sally and

The Barn Collective with Tom The Backroads Traveller.

We are in the country again this weekend in Northeastern Washington State. The guys are working on finishing up a staircase project while us girls are walking and enjoying other things. The big storm that was suppose to hit the Western part of our state fizzled out. That’s okay by us. Hope your weekend is filled with peace.

La Grange, Indiana

I tried to get some information on this mural on line and couldn’t really find anything. There were some references to Corn School.

La Grange Methodist Church?

1st Presbyterian Church in La Grange, Indiana.

On our way to Shipshewana, Indiana from the Detroit airport we stopped in La Grange on Highway 20 a few miles from “Shipshe” for dinner and saw these churches and mural while scoping out our dinner options. It didn’t take long to decide on one of the two spots that were open. The barn was spotted on the road before we reached La Grange.

Linking up with Tom the Backroads Traveler for The Barn Collective,

InSPIREd Sunday with Beth and Sally,

and Monday Mural at Oakland Daily Photo

Combining these three memes since all these photos are from La Grange, Indiana.

Bonneyville Mill County Park

While we were in Amish Country in Indiana the Mennonite Girls and our husbands took a driving tour along the Heritage Trail. One of our stops was at the Bonneyville Mill County Park Bristol, Indiana. The Dahlia garden was still blooming beautifully.

We traveled these roads on a Sunday September 25th when many stores and restaurants are closed in this part of our world. The guide says “find surprises at every turn”. We started the trail in Shipshewana and traveled through Goshen, Nappanee, Wakarusa, Elkhart, Bristol and Middlebury before we returned to Shipshewana.

The barn, barn quilt, and windmill were a bonus to see on this stop on our tour.

Sunday the 25th of September was our first full day of fun with most of the girls and our husbands. The Manitoba Girls and their husbands arrived in the late afternoon and then all 10 of us girls enjoyed “Faspa” together before heading to our rooms to rest up for the next several days filled with shows, meals, book signings, and travel. It will take several posts to share many of our experiences. Dear and I arrived home last night after the four hour drive to the Detroit Airport and a four and a half hour flight to Seattle. It was good to put our heads on our own pillows last night. We now have to set our inner clocks to Pacific time!

I’m linking up with Maggie at Normandy Life for Mosaic Monday and

with Tom the Backroads Traveller for The Barn Collective.

From the Other Side…

…of the Great Divide. The only side of Washington that is predominately red in their politics. The line between the blue and red counties cuts along the Cascade Mountain range. The blue side has the highest population, largest cities, with Seattle (652,405) being the largest. The red side has the most farmers and ranchers and many small cities. The largest city on the red side of our state is Spokane (210,721), then Spokane Valley (91,113) and Kennewick (76,762). All the population numbers I’m sharing are from 2013. The city I live in on the blue side of the state has a population of 21,611.

Dear and I travel across the great divide when we visit our son and daughter-in-law. We enjoy our time on that side. We find it refreshing. There are lots of great fences and barns to photograph. Here are some of those fences and barns all taken in Stevens County.

I’m linking up to Good Fences #128 with TexWisGirl and later in the weekend I’ll be linking up with Tom for The Barn Collective.

Happy First day of September to all of you! I started the morning off with fresh strong coffee in a new cup to me that I bought at the Habitat for Humanity Shop in Colville, Washington (population 4,668). It was half off and I only paid 40 cents for it. It’s Churchill made in England with a population of 53.01 million.

May September bring good things to us all.

“The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze.”
– John Updike, September

Barns in B.C.

B.C. as in British Columbia not before Christ.

Dear and I were in Canada the 18th and 19th of July and I snapped these photos of farms along the roads we traveled.

This last photo is not taken from our car but at our first destination in Chilliwack.

Next week I’ll share more photos with this barn in the background.

I’m linking up with Tom The Backroads Traveller for The Barn Collective.

M and W Barns

The barns I’m sharing today are taken along the roads in Montana and Wyoming that we chose to get to and from Yellowstone National Park the end of June.

The Speed limit on Interstate 90 in Montana gets as high as 80mph so I’m happy my photos are not blurrier.

Thank you to Tom The Backroads Traveller for the Barn Collective. Click over to see barns from other parts of the world.

Our youngest kids are still working on moving out of this old house. They spent their first night there last night. Since their new apartment is quite small a lot of their stuff will remain here. They have the tough job of weeding through the stuff to decide what they really need for this next stage in their life and then organizing the remaining stuff so we can isolate it in one area instead of spread out around the house. Small problems in this world of woe.

Do you still have some of your married kids stuff at your house?

Chuckanut Barns

On Friday the thirteenth of May we decided to take a drive up Interstate 5 in Washington State to Chuckanut Drive between Bow and Edison and north to Bellingham. It was a beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest. I love to say Chuckanut out loud!

Thanks to Tom for hosting The Barn Collective.

We had a nice quiet Sunday starting with our usual 8 am service at church. We heard a sermon on Integrity, thoughts on what is going on below and above the surface of our lives.

Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. Colossians 3: 1-2 (NASB)

After church we took a quick trip to the market for extras to add to the Chuck Roast cooking away in the slow cooker. I roasted carrots, potatoes , onion, and Poblano chilies that my husband suggested to go with the roast. It was delicious and the chilies were a nice addition.

Now we are watching a new show to us called “Alone”. A survival challenge in remote areas of Vancouver Island. Season 2 of the show is currently playing on the History Channel.

How was your weekend?

Barns and Farm Structures…

On our first morning at our son’s in Eastern Washington my DIL and I saw these small barns and farm structures on our walk.

Linking up with Tom at The Backroads Traveler for The Barn Collective.

The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b.

To honor and encourage

Tag Archives: The Barn Collective