Plain Talk about the Amish: A Year in an Amish Family

"No winter lasts forever. No spring skips its turn."

Amish Proverb

A few years ago, I met the Simon Yoders while doing research for a book. The following story is what I've learned and observed about them from visits with the family and through letters I've exchanged with Edna Yoder.

Life and work on the Yoders' Ohio farm revolves around seasonal rhythms. The four seasons order the flow of daily work that involves every member of the family—with help from the oldest (Simon's dad, Ivan, age seventy-seven) and the youngest (Simon's daughter, Rose, age six). Amish families garden together. Simon and his wife, Edna, prepare and plant the plot together. During summer harvest, the entire family—nine children (five boys and four girls) plus widower Ivan—pitch in to get the field crops in.

(C) Bill Coleman/amishphoto.com

Working together to benefit the family has been the backbone of Amish tradition. Day by day, month by month, the layers of hours nurture the family's sense of belonging. The passing of time, governed by a yearly cycle, spins along, sweet and rich with meaning. On December 31, Simon prays this prayer just as his father and grandfather had prayed it: "Lord, all this year you have tenderly watched over my friends, my loved ones, and me. You have truly blessed us. Now, may we live each day of the New Year protected and surrounded by your love."

In late winter, Simon gets restless for spring to arrive. "Farmers have had enough of their coffee breaks, though winter is a," writes Edna. "A good time for such things like that if we can get through the snow![JR1] The snow and ice have melted somewhat; we hear drip, drip, drip from the icicles formed on the edges of buildings. But there are still high snow piles around. Some of these piles have tunnels dug through them made by the children, and others [piles] were used to play King on the Mountain at recess time."

Spring is a time of reawakening. Most of the Yoders' field work happens between early March and late October. The intentionally limited size of Amish farms means there is usually something to do without being overwhelmed by work.

(c) Bill Coleman/amishphoto.com

Horses become conditioned for the growing seasonyear through the leisurely plowing of sod as Simon prepares the fields for spring planting. "The fields are starting to have a hue of green," Edna writes in late March. "Even though we like white winter months, there is something special about new life bursting from the ground and trees. Oh, the wisdom of God in the changing seasons!"

April is for plowing cornstalks and sowing oats, and preparing Edna's sizeable kitchen garden for summer's bounty.

In May, past the point of freezing, Simon and his two oldest boys plant corn. Cows and horses are turned out to pasture. Crops are being cut for hay baling. "Suddenly everyone is busy," Edna writes. She revels in returning purple martins—nature's efficient bug control.

"When we were still young and going to school, it seemed like the days just dragged by," Simon adds. "Especially toward the last part of the school term when the weather got nice and warm and the birds started coming back and the leaves started coming out. Now, the days seem to simply fly by."

(C) Bill Coleman/amishphoto.com

By the end of the month, school is over for the Yoder children, and shoes are abandoned for bare feet. "Fireflies are blinking away at night, letting us know the busy season of summer is fast approaching," Edna writes.

With hay making in June comes a sweet smell of strawberries in the air. The birds are singing, with their young ones flying from the nests. June means cosmos and snapdragons blooming, butterflies and bumblebees hovering. "Ripe strawberries—the sweetest things you ever tasted—bring treats from Edna's kitchen: shortcakes, pies, and jams," Simon says.

Summer is settling in. "It's hard to believe that we've now already passed the longest day of the year," Ivan says, "and it begins to wind down toward shorter days." How quickly a coming season treads on the heels of the departing one.

Life and work on the Yoder farm peaks in July with threshing, second-cutting hay, early apples, honey off of Ivan's hives, blackberries, and the first katydid. Simon and all of his sons are busy getting in hay between the rains, and the wheat harvest is pretty much in full swing. Edna and her three daughters will soon be busy canning green beans in a hot kitchen. Fresh vegetables are coming in from the garden. Those kitchen gardens are central to the self-sufficiency that the Amish still strive to achieve. Sweet corn and early tomatoes are starting to appear on dinner tables.

August already hints of autumn. Edna and the girls are canning pickles and peaches, and making relish and other garden things. "Garden goodies are such a treat!" she writes. "We've been using tomatoes for several weeks. We picked a couple cantaloupes and our first watermelon yesterday. Beans are being canned. Ivan is taking honey off his hives. He is stacking the supers in the greenhouse to get the honey warm enough to extract. Before we know it fall will be here. The crickets are singing more and more, a sign of late summer." The final daysend of August brings hotter weather and shorter days. It also marks the beginning of school with a work frolic to spruce up the schoolhouse.

September has a smell of its own. "And that smell is apples!" Edna says. Trees in the Yoder apple orchard have branches that are so loaded with fruit they are nesting on the grass.

(C) Bill Coleman/amishphoto.com

October is an almost perfect month on the Yoder farm. The cool nights have eliminated bothersome flies, which makes the cows happier. October brings corn harvest, cider making, apple butter—and colors and serenity that only this month can offer. Apple fritters, too! "Along about the middle of the month," Simon says, "we hear a sound that we've been waiting for—the quacking and gabbling of migrating ducks and geese." As the month draws to a close, so does Simon's field work.

November and December are the time to tackle the messier job of butchering meat. The Yoders keep some livestock to provide fresh meat for their family. It's also wedding season, when fields rest and there is time to devote to weddings. This year, the Yoders' oldest son, Glen, is planning to marry.

Winter is a time of cozy fires; eating popcorn and peeled apples; quilting, reading, and playing games in the evenings;, snowball fights and sleigh rides. The Yoder's are stocking their icehouse is being filled..

"The deer become very bold in winter," Simon says. "Their tracks crisscross everywhere around the barn, but not far into the haymow. They're still too wary to act like domestic animals. No doubt, their boldness is increased by the handouts of ear corn the boys have been treating them with."

(C) Bill Coleman/amishphoto.com

On the first breakfast of the New Year, Simon prays a special prayer, a family tradition: "Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be, on earth or else in Heaven, another year with Thee."

"A Year in an Amish Family" was excerpted with permission from Amish Values for Your Family (Revell Books, 2011).

About Suzanne Woods Fisher: She is an author of bestselling fiction and
non-fiction books about the Old Order Amish. Why the Amish? Well, Suzanne's
grandfather was raised Plain. She's always been fascinated by her gentle,
wise relatives. Learn more about Suzanne, her books, and Amish Wisdom, her
weekly radio show, by stopping by www.suzannewoodsfisher.com. Please subscribe to this blog and consider leaving a comment!