Okay,  time to buckle your seat belt, climb into the blogmobile and let's do our weekly exploration of all things Plain (Amish, Mennonite, Hutterite, etc) that have appeared online over the past week.  I had to sift through a lot of stuff to find anything good to share, this is what I came up with:

SCENES FROM LAWRENCE COUNTY, PA: A writer from Texas is traveling through Pennsylvania and stumbles upon the chocolate brown buggies of the Old Order Amish near New Wilmington.  This group, which we have discussed on this site before, is distinguished by their chocolate-brown buggy tops.  The writer describes one of these farms as being very "modern" (i.e. a John Deere tractor in the driveway) and also shares photos of laundry with red bananas hanging.  None of these descriptions gibe with what I'd say typically goes with a brown buggy community (ultra-conservative...no tractors allowed.. and I'm unfamiliar with the customer of red bandanas being worn, although I guess it could be a very local custom).  Anyway, after pondering these seeming anomalies for a few minutes, I just let it go...my head is still pounding from the lingering flu, so I'll just share her post and maybe some of you can share your thoughts?  Click here to enjoy, there are some wonderful photos.

BACK-ROADS TRAVELER:  Let's catch up with Tom this week. I don't talk about Shakers often on this website because they do come from a completely different religious tradition.  However, the Anabaptists and Shakers share some philosophical similarities, so much so that sometimes the uninitiated confuse the two...Tom had a Shaker post up this week, looks like it was done during warmer days, which made it even more refreshing to read. But also very informational. Click here to enjoy.  And, if you haven't had enough winter where you are at, click here to enjoy some soothing, serene scenes from winter on the backroads of rural New York State.

WHOOPIE PIE BLISS:   Okay, I think I need one of these....We've talked plenty on this site about the Amish connection to this confection....but a food blogger has taken this treat to new heights: wholegrain chocoalte nutella whoopie pies.  Sounds too good to be true...click here for the recipe and photos!