#amish farming

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A Shocking Scene

I took this photo exactly seven years ago today while I was checking my roads as a township trustee in Holmes County, Ohio. Wheat shocks standing in fields like this one was once a common scene in Ohio’s Amish country. Today, only the lowest order of Amish still shock their winter wheat, oats, and corn in the fall. The mainline Amish have introduced horse-drawn harvesting machines to gather…

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Sourcing For Whole Foods

Here is my response to a question about whole foods asked at the Hollywood Farmer’s Maret

Question by Bill Hory, Cosmic Bon Vivant of Whole Foods 

 So - we have alternated our raw milk, cheese, and eggs from local CA sources as well as the Amish over the years. But here's a question for you - given the regular radiation leaking in air and ground near nuclear power plants - turns out Amish country is surrounded by FOUR nuke plants all within a 60 mile radius. now i am not so sure such a good idea sourcing dairy from Amish - what say you? 

Reply...... If it's an issue then it is an issue. From some articles that I've read the Amish are not saints when it comes to their agriculture practices. Remember this is what I have read so it is hearsay. I have neither seen nor experienced it. 

My position is...

I want to be one handshake away from my food source. - I feel that the spirit in which the transaction takes place is just as important as the quality of the food itself. I would rather take lousy food from someone who has a good, bright spirit then healthy food from someone who is an asshole (with all due respect to assholes)  This was in response to the drama that was going on with Healthy Family Farms when I was caught in the crossfire. - I hitch-hiked for awhile in the early 90's in California, Oregon and Washington.  I did it because I had to.  Never had an issue.  In 2002, I was in Oregon for an event with the Merry Pranksters.  I hitch-hiked to and from the event.  I didn't have to.  It was more for a lark.  It was and felt problematic. The probability of issues increased if only for the reason that I didn't have to do this anymore. I was pushing my luck. 

If you truly need food and there is a high probability of risk, you would be a fool to not do it.  If you have the means, then I feel the door swings the other way. You are a fool or,  more kindly, increase the probability  (I am talking a "general" you) 

Nothing is a 100% in this game.  I like Bucky Fuller's statement that "our bodies are 99% subjectively coordinate"  I am thinking working with the planet as a whole is the same. 

Lastly, anytime I use terms "I" and "you", I mean it collaboratively. 

Love to Isabel.  Miss your brightness. I am now working for St. Benoit Yogurt and Drinkwell Softers in Hollywood. If you are there come on by. 

High Love and Yeehah!

[brucestambaughsblog]

Guarding the oats

Guarding the oats.

Oats shocks standing at attention in a field during the dog days of summer is a familiar scene in Holmes Co., Ohio. When the border between them and the road holds a row of summer’s wildflowers like chicory and Queen Anne’s Lace, the landscape is all the prettier.

“Guarding the oats” is my Photo of the Week.

© Bruce Stambaugh 2016

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Wheat Shocks

Wheat shocks

Fields of golden shocks of wheat create the iconic Amish country scene around this time of year. Like so many soldiers, they stand at attention air-drying in the sun. Soon armies of oat shocks will reinforce their numbers. If the weather cooperates, however, the wheat shocks are usually collected before the oats are cut and stacked to dry in the sun.

A machine cuts the stocks of…

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Helping Grandpa

Helping Grandpa. © Bruce Stambaugh 2016

Cute as it looks, this photo shows much more than a grandson riding along as his grandfather encourages a team of workhorses across a farm field. This exemplifies the hands-on part of an Amish education. Children learn at a young age how the work gets done, whether on a farm or in a shop or the house. It is practical, productive learning at its finest.

“Hel…

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Spring sunrise. © Bruce Stambaugh 2015

By Bruce Stambaugh

The first flowers of the year bloomed in our yard on April 1. No fooling.

My wife found them while picking up sticks after several additional days of steady, biting winds that brought down more tree debris. I had done the same chore a week previous.

Golds, lavenders and purples of spring, assisted by the blossoms’ compatriot green leafy shafts, poked through the tree trash. That’s the one nice thing about crocuses. They replenish themselves without any effort on our part, as long as furry varmints don’t devour them.

The royal purple, lovely lavender, and buttery yellow crocuses were welcomed splashes of joyous color amid the decaying aftermath of winter’s harshness. Even the honeybees thought so.

Dead limbs and burnished leaves littered the yard thanks to continuous cold winds. It was mostly the shingle oaks and red oaks that finally released last year’s growth.

It could be easy to be remorseful given the depth of winter’s persistent, piercing punches. To be blunt, the last two winters in Ohio have been brutal. The current condition of any highway, rural, suburban, urban or interstate, is proof enough of that.

The fact is that when you live in northern Ohio, awaiting spring requires patience. We shouldn’t allow either the sullenness of winter’s negative effect nor the cloudy, cool spring days to dull our senses to the numerous subtle changes that are occurring beyond the short-lived flowerings.

Those hints are our daily hope. We only need to watch and listen to realize spring’s emergence.

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Here’s what I’ve witnessed so far. The glint of another promising sunrise flashed off the harness hardware of the draft horses pulling one bottom plows turning topsoil. Chilly mid-morning April showers sent them all to the barn.

A Chipping Sparrow trilled its repetitious song from the safety of the blue spruce at the corner of our home. It was nice to hear its monotonous melody again.

A Red-winged Blackbird sang its luxurious chorus from the top of the tallest pine on our property. It had been doing so for a month already. When our son was a youngster, he always noted when this common bird with its flashy red wing patches first sang its welcoming song atop that tree.

Cardinals and American Robins joined in the musical mayhem, staking out their territories, and trying to attract a mate. The robins regularly asserted themselves, especially against their diminutive but beautiful cousins, the Eastern Bluebirds.

Molting American Goldfinches squabbled at the bird feeder by the kitchen window as if their changing colors irritated their familial demeanor. An Eastern Phoebe popped onto the same limb it claimed last year and naturally bobbed its lobed tail.

An awakened fox squirrel was a sight to see as well. Pelting rains had disheveled its scrubby fur as it munched and munched on sunflower seeds.

Buds on trees like the flowering dogwood and shrubs like the lilac swell slowly, stealthily. Eventually,

Yellow crocuses. © Bruce Stambaugh 2015

they will burst into full blossom, spreading both their beauty and fragrances for all to enjoy.

Long, hard winters followed by chilly, wet starts to spring can get us behaving badly if we’re not careful. We get antsy for the weather we so desire. Tending to both flower and vegetable gardens beats shoveling snow any day.

With the recent rains and warmer temperatures, it looks as though our steadfast but frayed patience has finally paid off. Let’s hope both fairer weather and pleasant attitudes prevail right on into summer.

© Bruce Stambaugh 2015

Waiting on spring requires patience By Bruce Stambaugh The first flowers of the year bloomed in our yard on April 1. No fooling.