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As I look out my window at the patches of snow, and the big, white, billowy clouds scuttling across the sky, I am reminded again of the weather immediately preceding sugaring when I was growing up. I will conclude my account of what sugaring was like on our farmette today. On a Saturday when sugaring…

Even though Western Massachusetts has been thrown back into winter, which doesn’t remind me very much of sugaring weather, I will continue my nostalgic musings about sugaring in my childhood days. We finished washing sap buckets the next day after school. Datt scattered the clean buckets throughout the woods the following day. When we came…

A friend told me some years ago that February is the sunniest month of the year. Since then I’ve taken notice and she is right about that. So far I’ve seen the sun every day this month, and sometimes for the whole day long. I love that the days are lengthening, and that we get…

Have you read the book “Rumspringa?” If so, do you think it does justice to the dilemma young Amish teens find themselves in?  Sarah Weaver asked this question some time ago, and I am just now getting around to answering it — thanks for your patience, Sarah. Yes, I have read Rumspringa — in fact…

Do the Amish get involved in community politics? I know there have been controversies about electrical lines crossing Amish-owned property and other community issues, but what about state and national election concerns? It’s been a while since last I posted. David and I had to make a mad dash to Rangeley, Maine this past weekend.…

We are linked by blood, and blood is memory without language. ~ Joyce Carol Oates One of my readers has asked whether my husband is also from the Amish community and what my sons’ relationship is to my background. I will address each of these in turn. David was not raised Amish –– he was…

It’s surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time. ~ Barbara Kingsolver Happy New Year to everyone! David and I enjoyed a very quiet, yet festive evening together on New Year’s Eve. We’d had a hectic week, so after a nice meal, we sat on the couch, covered with a blanket,…

Thanks for giving us a fuller view of “rum springa.” I was curious about what traditional courtship would entail. Going out to dinner is the most benign kind of date in mainstream American culture. That this would be more threatening than getting drunk on the regular basis, was surprising. Okay, AnnnieM, I am ready to…