P.L. Gaus's Blog: From Ohio's Amish Country, page 8

Photos From Ohio's Amish Country: Summer-13

Haflingers standing in the evening sun.  These Amish draft horses are a type of Avelignese, a breed originating in Austria several hundred years ago.  You can get the technical details at Wikipedia, but I just like to look at the beauty of them.  Amish people really know what they are doing with horses.

Photos From Ohio's Amish Country: Summer-12

Here is an Amish man whose bishop has ruled that hay balers are permitted.  Farmers like this one are still obliged to use horse power, but as is often the case, some modern machines are now permitted.  It all depends on what the bishop in a particular congregation has decided.

Photos From Ohio's Amish Country: Summer-11

Here is a really small Amish rig headed toward Berlin, Ohio.  The lady was not in much of a hurry to get there.  I think this is what they mean when they say "travel in the open air."  We do the same thing in our Miata, but at least we have bumpers and doors.

Photos From Ohio's Amish Country: Summer-10

Here is Andy, a one-armed Amish man waiting on an iron bench in Millersburg.  I spent the day with him several years ago, and we traveled to a number of shops in the area so that he could arrange some business for his sawmill operation.  The best part about the day?  Driving him around Holmes County in my Miata with the top down.  Once that day he commented to me that he would like to go one hundred miles an hour.  I won't say more, but the Miata can handle the speed.  What would you have done?

Photos From Ohio's Amish Country: Summer-9

Holmes County is horse country.  We have some of the most beautiful horses in the world.  For Amish people though, these are work horses first and foremost.  Beautiful, yes, but beasts of burden nonetheless.

Photos From Ohio's Amish Country: Summer-8

Here are two young Amish women taking a summer drive with some younger children in Holmes County.  You can tell by the wavy tracks in the gravel that this is a road often traveled by buggies.  Can you imagine anything more peaceful than a lazy ride in an open buggy? 

Photos From Ohio's Amish Country: Summer-7

Amish people raise draft horses, Belgians and Haflingers, and they are really good at it in Holmes County.  We see horses out in the fields all year, but I think they are especially beautiful in the spring and summer.  This family has a farm where the horses are cared for especially well.  I have sometimes seen as many as a dozen horses on their farm.

Photos From Ohio's Amish Country: Summer-6

Here is a roadside discussion between two Amish fathers and several barefooted boys.  They are parked in front of a chiropractor's office, but I don't know if they went inside that day.  Amish people do favor chiropractors, it seems, as well as folk remedies and herbals.  But who knows, maybe today they were talking about baseball.  Many of the Amish people I have met like that, too.

Photos From Ohio's Amish Country: Summer-5

Here an Amish family has come into Mt. Hope for a day of shopping.  This is an older photograph, taken before a bank knocked down Marty's Shoes and put in a parking lot for the restaurant next door.  The lad walking beside his father surely has a family of his own by now.  So too the little girl.  And the restaurant?  It's one of the best in Holmes County.

Photos From Ohio's Amish Country: Summer-4

Here is an Amish lad, taking a summer drive with his father.  They are driving a pony cart, and as you can see, that is an open air ride.  I don't know if I'd be brave enough to travel this way.  Trucks and tourists seem to speed up and pass abruptly.  But Amish people accept the danger as a matter of course.  It puzzles me endlessly.