Black Hats and Pickled Veggies

A few days sure can make a difference.  During Monday’s walk, many trees were still near the peak of color.  The setting sun was kissing the leaves with a glorious glow.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it a thousand times; only God can paint a picture like that.  And then to top it off, the simultaneous full moon rising while the orange sun was setting, caught me by surprise.  What a sight!  Can’t believe how often I’m still surprised by the beauty that surrounds us.  God must take great delight in displaying His awesome creativity.  

Joe Zook farm.

On my walk last evening the views were different.  In the past few days we've had rain and wind, and there is a marked change in the air and in the scenery.  As I walked along Zuercher, Alexander Troyer, an Old Order Amish man, was out near the road with a wheelbarrow full of horse manure that he was distributing on the pasture.  I stopped to chat, and the conversation went directly to the weather.  This is typical for men who spend a lot of time outside.  Sorta makes me think of the song by Randy Travis.  A few of the lines go like this:

“I’m gonna love you forever, forever and ever,

As long as old men sit and talk about the weather,

As long as old women sit and talk about old men.

I’m gonna love you forever, forever and ever, amen.”

But that’s what we do, we talk about the weather, and I mentioned to Alex that it sure feels like fall.

“Yes it does,” he replied.  “Some people are saying we’re going to have a really hard winter, and others say it’s not going to be bad at all.”

Glancing at the gray sky, he shrugged his shoulders philosophically.

“I don’t know what winter will be like, but when spring comes, it’ll be done.”

I had to agree.  The woolly worms aren't that good at making predictions either.  If we see a few dark worms, we say it will be a hard winter.  Old wives tale.  Another “predictor” is how high the hornets build their nests in the trees.  High nests mean lots of snow.  Last fall, there were some high nests, but one group of hornets didn’t get the message.  While mowing the overgrown pasture next door, I nearly drove into a large nest that was less than two feet off the ground.  So what will winter be like?  We’ll know when spring comes.  Around here though, we have a pretty reliable weather predictor; the Amish men are beginning to switch from straw hats to black hats.  This is a sure sign that cold weather is on the way.

* * * * *

A few hours ago I stopped over at John Miller’s house where I purchase baked goods—usually a pie—nearly every week.  They are a Swartzentruber family, and there are kids all over the place.  Today I asked the young lady how many children are in their family.  

“Fourteen,” she said.

I felt my eyes getting big, and then I said something obvious like, “Wow!  That’s a lot of children!”  She smiled, but didn’t reply.

Last week John met me halfway to the house, and when I asked him what kind of pie they have, he replied, “We have niss pie today.”  Guess I looked bewildered, so he went on. “It has nuts on top.”

“Oh, you mean pecan pie?”

Now he looked a bit bewildered, but he went on.

“Niss pie.  Some people use pakin nuts, and sometimes hickory nuts.”

Juanita was with me this time, and she understood.  The Amish word niss is close to the Swiss word nuss, and that means nut.  Well, she ought to understand.  Her momma was a Nussbaum.  In Swiss, that means nut tree.

“Well, if it’s pecan pie, I’d like to try it.”

It was pecan pie alright, and it was delicious!  One of the best.  It wasn’t so heavy and sweet like some pecan pies are.

Today, I purchased a pumpkin pie.  We’ll see how that one tastes.

* * * * *

A few years ago we raised a batch of chicks so we could have our own farm-raised eggs.  About half of the chicks were roosters, so we raised them too, for table fare.  As it turned out, we didn’t need very many, so we decided to give some to a Swartzentruber Amish family who lived nearby.  They eat a lot of chickens, and do their own processing, so we thought they’d probably appreciate them.  We didn’t want anything in return, but they insisted on giving us some freshly canned, pickled vegetables.  And they were delicious!

Vinegar and sugar are the main ingredients for pickling vegetables, and just about anything else can be pickled too.   Beets, eggs, cucumbers, pigs feet (never tried them), and more.  For thousands of years, pickling has been used to preserve food.  Pickled herring(fish) is a delicacy in some parts of the world, and in some cultures.

Now, to continue our trip to Israel. Come along with us if you wish.
So long.