Who else lives in Amish country?

[grntuscarora]

Driving the hilly back roads of my rural county today, I crested a hill to nearly have an "up close and personal" encounter with an Amish pony cart driven by a 9-year old with two cherubic passengers of the 6 and 4 -year old variety.

I was traveling under the 45-mile an hour speed limit but the cart, drawn by what looked to be a character from "My Little Pony", was poking along at a somewhat slower pace ---maybe 3 miles an hour tops. I braked furiously, and pulled into the other lane, which, thankfully, was empty as the adorable tots in the cart smiled and waved.

25 years living in Amish country have made me a pokey, cautious driver, but I nevertheless have nightmares of plowing into Amish buggies, carts, kids, plows, etc. The Amish evidently expect their their children to be bold and their ponies to be nimble. A Darwinian thing.

No more driving to do today, so I'm pouring myself a drink.

For benefit of urban/suburbanites who might not be familiar with them, here is what an Amish pony cart looks like--- a 10 on the cute scale:
[IMG][/IMG]

[rocktivity]

1. I hear they're not ALL on ponies

rocktivity

[HopeHoops]

2. Close. An hour west of Lancaster. Funny story involving our border collie...

We were on our way to Delaware to see my in-laws (who are here at the moment, curiously) and stopped for gas. On the way out, a horse and buggy pulled up next to us at the light. The dog FREAKED! "That's one BIG FUCKING DOG!!!!" sort of thing. I'm pretty sure that's the first time she'd ever seen one.

[marzipanni]

4. That's funny!

When I was a kid we had a standard poodle who used to go ballistic when a truck full of tree trimmings covered with a tarp was in front of our car. The tarp would fill up with air and deflate over and over again--"There's a big animal trapped under there!" We would all laugh, it really did look as if a beast was bucking and thrashing around trying to get out from under the tarp.

[Tobin S.]

3. They're just up the road from us

I live in Richmond, Indiana which is a town of about 40,000 people. But just a few miles up the road right outside of Fountain City there is a community of Amish people. I drive a large truck through there every day several times a day and I'll usually run across a horse-drawn wagon at some point during the day. My truck is large and scary sounding and I'm always afraid that the horse will freak as I'm coming up on the wagon or going around. They never do.

[av8rdave]

5. I live in Northwest Ohio amish country

The east edge of the Wal Mart parking lot:

[IMG][/IMG]

When it comes to candy, furniture and quilts, these folks have it going on!

[Arugula Latte]

6. And space heaters, apparently!

[A Simple Game]

7. Northern New York where I live has one of the strictest sects in the country.

You wouldn't see those colored clothes or rubber tires on a wagon.