We're back home

We got home last night, just in time to enjoy the predicted snow flurries.   The "weather guessers" are not suggesting that it will accumulate, but still.....Its cold and windy and the rain has substance, it stings our faces when we're taking supplies out of Beluga.  We had another house showing this morning so we stayed in Beluga last night  to avoid soiling the perfectly prepared house.....once again, finger's crossed.

Our last days in Ohio were very pleasant.   The weather wasn't perfect, but it wasn't bad.  We went out for breakfast, explored some back roads, stopped at a number of furniture stores and found a farm market with a bakery attached.   The season's bounty was displayed in bins outside and inside were all manner of goodies.

Unfortunately, this market had more than veggies and baked goods for sale.   Puppies, puppies, puppies.    Yep, it was probably connected to one of the infamous Amish puppy mills.    On display were many breeds of babies.  A doberman, a german shepherd, an old english bulldog bitch with her litter of little piggies, a scottie mama with her tiny ones, a little pug with buggy eyes, a few golden retriever fluff balls, two tiny daschundss and a few other designer breeds.   To be fair, they looked to be in good shape, clean and relatively lively.   The Amish girl attending them was careful about who she let hold them and monitored the children's attention, but still.......I have to wonder what their lives are like back in the beautiful barns we see from the road.   Sigh.   I suppose they are looked at as a  commodity to their breeders, much like any other thing they have for sale.   Difficult to get my head around that concept.



Horses are everywhere.  In the fields working, or grazing quietly.  Mostly they're seen pulling all manner of conveyance down the narrow, winding and hilly roads of Holmes county.

In some places, traffic was heavy.   Horses, bicycles, pedestrians, heavy trucks and tourists.   Some of the roads were little more than paths, luckily these were lightly traveled.  Driving in this area is unnerving as coming up over a steep hill could very well reveal a slow moving horse carriage just in front of you.    Thanks Dave.

waiting at the laundromat

waiting at the grocery store

a sports car

We passed a very small school house with a pony tied to a hitching post in front, his cart removed and stowed for the day.   Hind leg cocked, he  was sound asleep. He must be used to spending the day there waiting for his child to finish school and the return trip home.

can you see Beluga waiting for us?

The purpose of our trip, other than a pleasant motorhome getaway before winter, was to find a small chest of drawers for our bedroom in the cottage.   Its a tiny place and our furniture here at the farm simply won't fit.   In the past we've enjoyed seeing the quality furniture produced in the mills surrounding Mt. Eaton so we thought we'd look for our dresser there.

We found just what we were looking for, but the delivery charges were substantial.  Could we fit it in Beluga I asked?    Dave spent a fair bit of time with a tape measure and decided that if he took out my front seat it would just make it in the door.    Once inside, it could ride on its back on our bed.
  So, Friday morning we were waiting when Homestead Furniture Company opened its doors.  

The beautiful, simple, hand made Shaker cherry man chest did indeed fit through the door and it rode quietly on the bed for the 7 hour trip home.  I took no pictures of the deed,  the lads that helped Dave get it inside were Amish and don't allow photographs.     When we got home we called wonderful Fred and he came right up and helped Dave with the unloading.   Thanks Fred.

So....now we're home and are still waiting, more or less patiently, for someone to come along and fall hopelessly in love with this farm.