Ode to Amish Autumn - Favorite Photo

By CAPTION:  A buggy loaded with late-season pumpkins clatters down the road near Belle Center, Ohio. This was snapped by an Amish365 reader several years ago.

Kevin Williams

There is a definite change to the rhythm of the work on Amish farms as we get into mid-October.  The last flaming orbs of orange are picked from the patches and turned into pies, breads, muffins, and even soups.  October and November sees gardens picked clean and tilled under for another season. Produce auctions wind down and colorful mums and asters give the season – and wayward butterflies – a last gasp of color and pollen before the winter drab and dull. Crisp, fresh apples continue to be harvested and pressed into cider and baked into pies.   Cellars are filled with apples and potatoes and colorful jars of canned goods for hungry families to enjoy the bounty of summer year-round.  Mornings grow colder and much of Amish County awaits the early morning nip of its first frost. Charcoal black colored coats come out of storage, are washed and aired out.

The days grow shorter and suppers shift earlier, so do bed times.  The first chunks of coal and the first armfuls of firewood make their way into stoves.  Some Amish homes place coal stoves in their basement and let the natural rise of warm air waft its way up through venting in the floors.  Other Amish homes have stoves in every room to put off a toasty glow when night arrives.  Evenings begin to fill with Amish children - scholars, they call them - sitting at tables and sofas working on essays and read assignments for school the next day.

Tourists flock to Amish country to admire the changing leaves cloaking hillsides as a buggy backdrop and to perhaps buy some fresh cider. But beneath the tourist bustle the Amish are also on the move, headed to fields for one last softball game before the cold weather arrives or a final frolic or barn-raising before winter's chilll grinds much outdoor work to a halt.

Halloween is largely ignored in Amish communities, but the secular traditions of a trick or a treat make their way into their lives, especially among the children who go to public schools.

For the Amish communities that use gasoline-powered tractors and mowers, the equipment is chec ed and cared for and then stored away for the winter.