Wednesday, May 14, 2014

tornado alley in amish country

Today certainly held an element of excitement. In the morning it was pretty much ho hum, not beautiful and yet not awful either. It was one of those mornings that you just knew was going to either turn out wonderful or not. Well, this area certainly got the "not." 

The tornado siren is in the grounds of my workplace for the surrounding community and it went off between 2 and 3 pm, I believe, and it went on and on and on for at least five minutes. I thought my ear drums were going to bleed or burst because the noise was so shrill and intense...for so long. My goodness, if you weren't awake, you were gonna be awake by the time that five minutes was over. Whew! I guess they need to blow that siren for so long, but there is no mercy for those in close proximity. 

No tornado actually hit our area, at least not nearby that I know of, but the clouds that loomed were daunting enough and made one take notice and breathe a bit of a prayer for safety. 

As I left my 9-5 this afternoon I knew I had a bit of free time as my plans had kind of fallen through for this evening. I had planned on going to watch our friend's son play a game of softball. He belongs to Little League and I wanted to go support him, but because of the heavy rains after the tornado scare the game was cancelled. Instead of coming straight home, I went home via "the long way" and was able to get a few photographs of my Amish Country that I love so very much. At one crossroad I wondered which way to go and felt prompted to make a right and oh mah goodness! I was totally blessed with some of the things I found to photograph. I will try and share some of my adventures after I'm finished writing. I don't edit my pictures, you get them as I shoot them, but it still takes a bit of time to go through them and decide which ones are post-worthy and which ones are just for me. 

This week I've been a bit quiet on here. I have many irons in the fire at all times, but one thing that remains important to me is to fellowship with other ladies, old friends and new ones too. Last night I met with a new friend and I had no idea how long our dinner would go, but we ended up having a two and half hour conversation. We laughed, we shared and got serious and then we laughed some more. The week before was the same way, I met with a new friend who has been an inspiration for me via the blog world for at least a year and then I got to meet her and next thing we knew we had scheduled a dinner to get together and visit and talk all things blog and beyond. Next week I have plans to meet for dinner with an "old" friend...not in age, but we've been friends for a good long time now...so that is why she is an old friend. I don't care, new or old friends, if they are true friends, they are priceless and can only enhance ones life.

Last week I didn't cook a lot, we had some leftovers around here and then we went out to eat once or twice and ended up not needing me to cook. I missed not cooking, so tonight, after my excursion via "the long way home," I came home and baked a pork roast, made sweet potato fries to go with the pork and then I also roasted a lot of garlic and made a roasted garlic spread to add to sandwiches or to put on top of meat or whatever we wish. I am totally addicted to roasted garlic. It is so delicious and enhances food to the nth degree! If you've not tried it, then you should. You will not be let down. 

After cooking and cleaning up the kitchen and then sitting down and eating the delicious homemade food I felt....complete. I love to cook and when I don't spend some time in the kitchen creating something I start to feel incomplete. At home I'm almost never dismayed at the food, but so often when we go out to eat I'm totally underwhelmed at the flavors that get thrown on a plate with an $11 price tag or more attached to the dish.  

At this point...I'm rambling, so I am going to go upload a few pictures for you and have a bit of a show and tell and then I have to get to bed. Morning always comes so quickly. Can anyone relate???



Some sheep and lambs grazing. I couldn't stop looking at all the green around them. They are knee deep in grass. The cluster of trees in the background...priceless! 


I've been noticing the cows.

This one noticed me as well. 


This isn't the prettiest picture in the bunch, however, I noticed the colors, the deep blue sky against the green grass and the two very dark horses, and fence. Lots of color going on. 



A lone horse out grazing. He looked up when he heard me. 


Cows in one pasture, sheep in the other. Beautiful green carpet they are grazing on. 


The herd of cattle by themselves. 


The sheep...be still my heart. How precious this is to me.

I love sheep. We used to raise lambs. 


One lone tree standing tall and regal in the midst of a field, providing not only shelter for the animals and reprieve from the hot summer sun, but also beauty to the passerby. 


Love the tree and love the colors. 


Beautiful winding road. 


A herd of cattle grazing deep in this pasture. 


Someone's garden is about ready to be planted. 


Mr. Rooster didn't want to pose, he went running, but I snapped his picture before he got away. 


Here is Mr. Rooster's wife along with another couple. They just stared at me. Not quite as skittish as Mr. Rooster was. 


There is nothing like a long muddy lane with a cozy farm tucked in at the end of it. 


Friendly Curious cow.


I simply love this picture. The creek winding lazily through this pasture makes the whole picture wonderful for me. 


I noticed the sky while I was out of my car, so I got a shot of it. Not as spectacular on a picture as it was in real life. 


Another shot of the muddy lane. I like the sky and the very green pasture beside it with cows grazing. 


Amish schoolhouse tucked neatly back there by the woods. 


That red barn against the blue sky...love it!


Another lane with a farm at the end of it. 


A different farm. 


Here is their very muddy lane. 

I kind of like it though. 


They sell baskets...I dare anyone to drive their vehicle down that muddy lane and go shopping for a basket!

More pictures in the camera...pigs...onions...more scenery, but I'm whipped and have to get to bed. 

Good night all! 

PS...there were more tornado sirens and storms tonight as I was cooking. I forgot to put that in all my rambling. Must be it wasn't too dramatic for me, or I would have made mention of it. Now I will say good night everybody! 

1 comment:

  1. I love your pictures. They look just like the dozens I took two weekends ago in Lancaster. I was obsessed that Monday with all of the laundry on the lines. Took many pics. We come to MIllersburg on occasion. For some reason I rarely take pictures out there. Your farms are more hilly than the farms in the East. They are mostly flat.

    ReplyDelete