The Amish Country

I have always romaticized and idealized the Amish life style. I'm drawn to the bucolic landscape they are able to create and maintain, as well as the philosophy of a simple life, a life that stays away from the modern frenzy over fashion, fancy appliances or i-phones. I got a peek into their world last weekend. After all, we are spending our summer in Ohio, which has the one of the largest Amish populations.

We got quite excited when we spotted the first buggy with a young family with a newborn baby on it. But then, we saw many more of them at the local Walmart (Millersburg). Yes, they do go to the groceries. In fact, that Walmart has a parking space for buggies.

We bought a basket, hand-made by an 11-year old boy, from a bare-footed girl. Amy had a good chat with her and got to know that she was one of 9 children: she had 4 brothers and 4 sisters. One of the baskets that she was selling was made by another brother of hers, and he was only 8. Their craftsmanship, however, is impeccable.

The roads were steaming hot. But most of the Amish kids, except those who were feeding the animals, were bare-footed. They mingled so well with the animals, all kinds of them. Handsome horses roamed around the green slopes. If deprived of the smells and the flies, all was just poetic.

People go to Provence and other Mediterranean places to explore countryside that evokes nostalgia of some kind. I suppose we don't need to travel far to find that. In the heart of the Ohio State, there is such peaceful and scenic country that reminds the viewers of the pastoral painting of old.

I don't think the images attached here do sufficient justice to the landscape. Oh, well, we were just using a dummy-proof camera.