Yesterday, I ventured forth from self-isolation to make a trip to my local Amish community to purchase fresh milk, eggs, and tomato plants. It has been three weeks since my last visit and the world is a different place now.
When I arrived at the milk house of the family where I have a standing order, the father of the family met me at a distance. He explained how they are practicing social distancing and obeying the State of Tennessee's mandatory stay-at-home order. No one in the tightknit community has become infected by the Chinese Coronavirus. Even without modern communication, they knew what was happening.
He brought the full jars from the milk house as I opened the large ice chest in the trunk of my car. I stepped away to make space so he could place the jars in the ice chest. Normally, we stand side by side to avoid dropping the cold, wet glass jars. From opposite sides of the car, we chatted for a few minutes.
There were no children running to peep into the chest to grab their favorite color popsicle. No long conversations - just necessary business. After the milk was loaded, I put the popsicles in a grocery bag to be disinfected before being touched by the children.
When paying cash for bedding plants at another home, my fingers accidentally touched the lady's hand. Out came my hand sanitizer which I shared with her and then she shared how to disinfect cash by leaving it in the sunshine (cash is probably cleaner than touching the buttons on an atm anyway). As we stood far apart inside her greenhouse, she wondered if the world will ever be normal again. I replied, the last time the whole world was shutdown was during Noah's flood; nothing was the same after it and it won't be the same now. Hopefully, a few more people will survive this time.
As I was leaving, I drove the long way home, not being in a hurry to leave the quiet countryside. There were no customers anywhere and all the men in the fields were working alone.
Everyone obeyed the social distancing rules except for one group: the pigs. They were snoozing in the dirt under a shade tree without a care in the world.
Our lives have been disrupted severely by the pandemic, but as for the Amish, their lives have hardly changed at all.
Amish, Buying Fresh Milk
How interesting and beautiful! I'm surprised they knew about the pandemic; perhaps a previous customer told them? It all seems so peaceful there. We have some Amish communities not to far from our home, too. We frequently stop to get their baked goods--so yummy!
ReplyDeleteMy assumption (wish I had asked but we didn't talk long) is that since they are businesses, someone from the government visited them. Only nonessential companies are allowed to be open during the shutdown and because they sell food and garden plants, they are allowed to remain open.
DeleteHow wonderful. I bought raw milk for a few months, and had just gotten supplies to make cheese with it when she quit selling. I hope to find another reasonably close source again.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful to get these fresh products! And your photos are beautiful. I love seeing their well kept homes and fields...oh and animals! I used to buy raw milk and butter and even had a source for whole wheat flour. That was years ago in Texas. Nothing else like it! I used to skim the cream off and try to make butter....shake shake shake! lol Take care of yourself and thanks for sharing these photos. I know we all wish we lived out in the country right now! Hugs from Florida, Diane
ReplyDeletePS Guess what's blooming here....all our in the forest.....!!!! Paw Paws! Does that make you want to SING? heehee!
ReplyDeleteI wish we had some Paw Paws! I have heard how delicious they are but also that they don't transport well so no one ever sells them. We do have two persimmon trees on the far back of the property. You have to wade through weeds and thorns to reach them but they are delicious. I have set under the trees and eaten them until I couldn't walk back.
DeleteHow I wish I could have went on that drive with you...I keep thinking I am going to go for a drive, but I never do it. The thing is, it had been ages since I had been for one, even before this virus.
ReplyDeleteYears ago we would go on long drives just for fun but it was when the gas prices were cheap. At that time it was all we could afford to do. Hopefully, the gas war will continue and the prices will drop further. When this shutdown is over, we are going somewhere, anywhere...just picking a direction and going.
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