Haus, Hoss, Hirsch, Hershberger

What do this things have in common? They sound similar in Pennsylvania Dutch. Their definitions, however, are quite are different.

Haus (sounds like Haas to me) -- German for house, the Amish use this word

Hoss (sounds like Hoss from Bonanza) -- means Rabbit. Must be straight-up PA Dutch. The German word for rabbit is quite different than this

Hirsch (believe it or not, this word sounds like Hosh) - Deer. It's so cute to hear a little Amish girl in the car exclaiming "hirsch, hirsch!" when she sees a deer cross the road. On a more morbid note, I drove into a driveway where some kids were talking about the Hirsch hanging in the garage. Of course, it sounded so much like Hoss (rabbit) to me, I asked about the rabbit hanging in the garage. That's when I learned the difference between Hoss and Hirsch!

Hershberger -- the last name of some of my Amish clients. We English normally pronounce it phonetically. Among the Amish I know, Hershberger is pronounced Hoshbahah. Shaking my head!

Worry

The Amish ladies I am taking shopping today shared a proverb with me. It goes something like this:

Worry is like a rocking chair

It gives you something to do

But it gets you nowhere

Busy on the Buggy Trail

Weeks have passed since my last post! Other than driving Amish and attending school, I have been busy building my new Amazon web-store: Buggy Trails. I have been taking pictures of products, edited them, re-naming them, and building product flat files to upload to the store. I plan to launch the store on or before May 5. As soon as the link is available, I will post it here.

In the meantime, I also need to find a new picture to post at the top of this blog. Winter is finally losing its fight against Spring--although, tonight the temp is supposed to dip to the 30s. Brrrrr! I'm going to look for just the right scene to portray Amish country in the Spring, and will upload it ASAP.

Thanks for reading my blog. If you get a chance, click on over to the Granny B Farms blog located at: grannybfarms.blogspot.com. I will be posting some fascinating information about organic farming as Spring and Summer progress. Let me know your comments!

Angie

Amish Hospitality

I drove an Amish family to a wedding this week. We left on Wednesday and spent the night with one of their relatives. (The Amish in Ohio generally have their weddings on Thursday, though sometimes on Tuesday.) My group were not the only ones spending the night at the farmhouse. But, I was the only English (non-Amish) sleeping over. Before I went to bed, the host family told me to sleep in the next morning. They were going to take a buggy to the event--I wouldn't need to show up until lunch time. So I did. How peaceful it was! The only noise as I drifted to sleep that night was the wind. I have to admit, I missed hearing the night train near my own home. But the serenity of that farmhouse was complete.

When I finally rolled out of bed about 8:30 the next morning, I went downstairs to find breakfast waiting for me on the table. A note directed me to the warm breakfast casserole setting on the cast iron cook stove, along with a kettle of hot water for coffee. A bowl and flatware sat on the table next to cereal, farm-fresh milk, a plastic container with two kinds of cookies, a jar of instant coffee, and a pitcher of fresh pumped water. The room was dark, so I pulled the simple curtains back to let the sunshine in, sat at the table, and had a leisurely breakfast.

On the way to the wedding, I took a few photos at the "sugar barn" where they cook down maple sap to make maple syrup. Below are a few photos. Notice the sap is clear when it comes out of the trees. The dark color is obtained by reducing the liquid during cooking. It takes 50 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of pure maple syrup!

The simple, hardworking life of the Amish may not suit everybody. I would have a hard time getting used to living without electricity and indoor plumbing. However, I am thankful to be able to take a peak inside now and then!

Amish Candor

My friend Darren* talks to me about the struggle between pleasing God, and remaining in good graces with the Amish church. There are many things he would like to do--things that he doesn't believe are sins--but his church condemns. How many of us "English" fight the same battles? When is it appropriate to forsake tradition and follow your conscience before God? Darren tells me that when the Amish are about to do something questionable, they look around them to see who's looking, instead of looking up to ask what God thinks about it. Sounds familiar to me. Anyone else out there struggle with the same thing?

*Names always changed in anecdotes to protect privacy.

Supper Time for the Shipley

Scenes from the 34th Annual Mid-Ohio Draft Horse and Carriage Sale, Mt Hope, OH