Got up this morning at 6:30 AM to the sound of wind whispering through the trees and the crackling of grass taking on a coating of frost. It wasn't quite white on the ground but it was close. And of course, as soon as the dogs heard me moving around they just had to get up and go out. So I quickly grabbed some winter clothes, got dressed and off we went for our morning walk. It was short. Even they weren't too thrilled to be out for long. But the weatherman promised a nice day so we made our plans to go to Burton and Middlefield about 25 miles north of here to see more Amish Culture.
After cleaning up the breakfast dishes while watching GMA and catching Regis & Kelly we decided to get started. Tina took the dogs out while I tidied up. When she came back she suggested I might want to change into something lighter. I stepped outside and she was right. In a couple of hours we went from the low thirties to the low sixties, so I went and changed into one of my aloha shirts and a pair of shorts. Cool! We paccked up the kids grabbed our map and itinerary of places to see and headed off.
Our first stop was in Burton where the town has recreated a typical small Amish community with a store, school house, dressmaker shop, Sherrifes office, several houses, farm, blacksmith, train depot and community square. This was a really lovely place with lots of trees, grass and shady lanes winding through the community. Since this was a weekday there weren't any artisans working and most of the buildings were closed but it was nice to be able to get out and walk around.From Burton we drove east towards Middlefield where we stopped at "Mary Yoder's Amish Kitchen and Bakery" for a few items. This place was part gift shop, part restaurant and part bakery. With the smell of fresh baking wafting through the air, it was difficult to leave. So we bought some gifts, some bread and pastries then hurried to the car before we decided we needed to go back in for something else.
Next we drove to "Millers Holtz Haus" where they have lovely Amish handmade furniture - rockers, chests , porch swings, unique wooden toys and crafts. But with a tourist bus parked in the driveway we decided not to stop as there was a bus full of tourists there. So we by-passed Miller’s Holz Haus and went on to the “Middlefield Cheese House and Museum” which is a combination of retail outlet, museum and cheese manufacturer on the order of Oregon’s Tillamook Cheese but without the restaurant and sweet shop. We just had to buy some Jungfrau Baby Eye Swiss cheese and a package of Uncle Mike’s Beef Sticks. The Museum was closed so after making our purchases we headed up the road to the Middlefield Market Complex (giant flea market) which was closed. 
As we headed to our next stop, we had to pull off the road so Tina could take a picture of a sign showing a “Buggy On The Road”. Naturally, no sooner did we get back on the road than a buggy and driver came trotting up the road towards us. Quickly pulling off the road Tina got a picture. A little further on down the same road was “Countryside Furnishings” another Amish fine furniture manufacturer and retail outlet. Here we visited with the owner and spent some time looking at a lot of really beautiful furniture. There was a coffee table and end table combo along with a couch and love seat for about $2,000 before shipping – we probably should have bought them, but with our future plans up in the air we decided to take a pass. Oh well, you never know which was the right decision until later. While we were there Tina took a picture of a “Buggy Parking” sign.
From here we went to the “Amish Home Craft Shop” where we almost got a really nice tall back bent wood rocker for the deck, but again we took a pass – no place to carry it anyway. Next we went to the “Ridgeview Farm and Culture Center”, a large working farm with a flower, fruit and vegetable stand, petting zoo (several goats, a couple of lambs, some rabbits, a baby Herford and a couple of piglets) and a semi museum in the upstairs part of the barn (above the petting zoo) set up like a meeting room with benches and Amish clothes, appliances and other household items. It was interesting but without someone to talk about what we were seeing it wasn’t very informative. We bought some homemade pickles and black licorice then moved on. There were lots of Amish buggys out on the road going about their business, sometimes with two people, but mostly with one. All the men wear straw hats, white shirts, black pants (usually with suspenders) and the women all wear bonnets and very plain dresses. 
Our last stop was going to be “Yoder’s Furniture” so we headed out down another road through Middlefield, not really a town, more of a geographic area where there is a collection of Amish farms and stores of various types. We got to Yoder’s and they were closed so it was time to think about a bite to eat. We had seen a really nice place when we were in Burton so we looped around and drove back to the town of Burton. We parked along the town square, a large oval commons with a park and square in it. This functions as a large roundabout with one way traffic around it and four or five streets radiating off of it. Retail shops and businesses are on the outside of the oval with residential and professional offices above. Almost all buildings are two story with three or four foot alleyways placed every couple of buildings for pedestrian access to additional parking. Street parking in front of the businesses is almost always angled head-in. These are really common in this area and provide a restful park and gathering place right in the center of town for locals and visitors to enjoy. We enjoyed a very nice lunch at a small café then headed home following back roads through the countryside. This is a really beautiful part of the country with farms and pastureland all around. The homes are all very well kept up and when you get into the small towns there are plenty of large older homes, most with fresh paint, nicely landscaped and set back from tree shaded roads and sidewalks.
Later in the evening I drove to Talmadge to play in a Nine Ball pool tournament at B’Mers Billiards. This was a nice place set up similar to Houdini’s Billiards but with ten nine foot tables set to tournament specifications (very tight pockets). The tournament was Nine ball, race to three, double elimination format with BCA rules. Twenty-four people signed up. I jumped out to a 2-0 lead in my first match only to lose as my opponent came back with some fine safety play and took the next three games. This sent me to the losers bracket where I won my next five matches. My sixth match was against one of the better players. He took the first game then I came back and won the second game. With some good safety play and finally getting focused on my stroke I took the third game. On the fourth game I broke and ran to the nine but got out of shape and had to make a difficult cut shot. I missed but left a fairly easy bank which he made, tying us at two games each. The fifth game he broke but didn’t make any balls. However, the nine ball was in jawed in the corner pocket with the two ball only six inches away. Coming to the table I had a very difficult length of the table cut on the one ball or a poor opportunity to make a safety. Rather than leave the nine where it could be made on almost any combination I chose to play the two-nine combo to get the nine ball re-spotted and, having made a foul, give my opponent ball in hand. Even though he was playing well I didn’t expect him to run out, but that’s what happened. He shot well and by pocketing the nine closed out the match 3-2. So I ended up in 5th place, not bad for not having played for almost two months.
Since it was now 11:20 PM I was ready to leave. After thanking the owner for running a nice tourney I headed back home. As I got ready for bed Tina told me about her falling down the steps while I was gone. She was taking the dogs for a walk when her foot slipped off the last step and down she went, banging down the stairs to land on the ground. She was pretty banged up with several large bruises and a couple of scrapes. I got the liniment with lavender out and gave her a back rub to take down some of the swelling. Hopefully she will heal with a minimum of pain.
To see all of today’s photos click on the following link:
No comments:
Post a Comment