Abe is a master carpenter, everything he has done here has been done with hand tools and occasionally a gas powered table saw. Abe and his helpers do beautiful work.
The Amish believe in neighboring, that means that they strive to be good neighbors and enjoy having neighbors that feel the same way. I am what they call an "English" but I am a good English becauses I understand and try to practice neighboring.
Abe and his family have become more than just good Amish carpenters, I have enjoyed eating at his table, his visits and trading. Most of all we spar because Abe has a very colorful personality and a very good sense of humor.
There are a few things about the Amish that is not common knowledge, one is that even though they do not have phones and cars news travels like wildfire among their community. Also, they have super powers, they see everything like people visiting or a hay delivery and even a Vet visit. Abe does not live right next to me but he knows everything that goes on at my place, it's like he has x ray vision through several acres of woods and fields.
The other very important thing to know about Amish is that they love ice cream, I mean they LOVE ice cream. The love of ice cream comes from not having a way to keep it for long. Also, Amish work all the time and do not have many places to sit in their homes. They are always moving and won't sit long as a rule, this equates to being able to eat a lot of ice cream and burn off the calories without blinking an eye.
Abe was a gateway to the Amish community all around me. I am visited by other Amish and when they need to call a doctor or sometimes to be driven somewhere because of a medical need. In return, I have been given homemade bread from their tables and other items that they produce.
I am "in" their circle to a point because when they interact with me they are themselves, when another English is present though they will become stoic and Amish. Some have shared their knowledge of home remedies and experience.
The most valuable gift I have received from my Amish friends is learning about their goodness, they do love and care for animals, they love their children and do everything with them. People think their life is a hard one but they work and live at a pace, they do not obsess and they do not worry about material things. Amish value family and community more than anything else they could possess.
My neighbors bring back memories of and have so much in common with the family I grew up with. My adopted grandfather was born in 1884, he wore very plain work clothes, laced boots and a straw hat in the summer, my adopted mother canned everything. I grew up with stories of their lives when they did not have electricity and running water. I relate to the people around me now sometimes more than my own English kind.
Tonight we visited Levi who is Abe's younger brother. Levi is the sweetest and kindest and he looks just like his dad. I met Levi's children and his wife too. We went to Levi's house to take pictures to help him sell it, he wants to move to Kentucky where land is cheaper and the farms are larger. Levi has six children, he will have more and he wants to live where his children can live and have farms when they grow up. There is not enough land here now at a reasonable price to expand the community.
We walked across the road and visited Levi's father's metal working shop which was filled with large old fashioned machining equipment. Outside the shop is all the equipment Levi and the other Amish have manufactured by hand, all farm implements. The workmanship is pristine and impressive because the work was done the old way without modern machining equipment.
The picture above is of a simple kitchen in Levi's home, it is complete with a woodburning stove and a long dining room table lined with plain wooden chairs. The home was simplistic, warm, clean and filled with family love.
My life has taken a very interesting twist moving here, I have learned about another culture, I have become the proud owner of domestic geese which yields amusement and endless stories, I have a huge spring fed pond teeming with life that shares it's secrets with me with every season that passes. All of these things are amazing to me, my life has been deeply enriched and I am grateful for them.
