Welcome to the Inn! Not that you can get there from here…..

We always have guests at the Inn when there is a big winter storm. This storm was no different. So Glenn had the happy task of digging us out from under a 6′ snow bank. And since the back of the Inn faces south, that is where the “vacuum” occurs so the drifts were all up against the rooms. But don’t worry – it only took him 10 hours to shovel out! Whewww!

My camera was giving me trouble last week so I am adding several updates today.

The structure is under way. This photo was taken on November 14th. This next shot I took 12 days later on November 26th! Enos had a “frolic” last week so he had the help of about 12 Amish men to get the roof on and the siding up. You can see 2 buggies parked in front of the new building. The men are now inside finishing the interior of the dwelling space. The horses are spending the night in their new enclosed area which is wonderful because the night time temperature is starting to dip into the single digits. Winter is closing in!

12 days later

Last week we arrived at the Farm from Stonington to see our first Amish inhabitants. They were in a newly created pasture fenced off with barbed wire. The smaller horses are used for tranportation while the draft horses are for farming.

Our new farmers, Enos & Barbara Miller, are now in a race with the weather. They are busy cutting the trees (from the Gingerich property down the road) and milling the lumber to build the structures they need. Right now they will build a medium size building that will house winter shelter for the horses, their farming equipment and a small 24′ x 24′ dwelling space for themselves. The outhouse will also be under the same roof. Since they will not need electricty or plumbing of any kind, building the dwelling will go fairly quickly.  In the Spring they will have a barnraising for the larger barn structure.

buggy horses in the orchard

On Friday morning, October 26th, pieces of a silo and a tractor trailer truck carrying the belongings of our young Amish farming family arrived at Mountain Glory Farm. Then the first buggy arrived, the first of many. A group of 40-50 Amish people, men, women, children of all ages and a few infants, met at the farm to help unload the tractor trailer and welcome Enos and Barbara Miller to their new life in Maine. It was a glorious day, sunny, 60 degrees, just amazing for late October in the mountains of Maine.

I arrived at the farm house very early to set up coffee, water and cider and try to figure out how to document this farming adventure (without any Amish people in the photos) in order to share it with you. I decided on “before and afters”. So I took a photo of what the entrance of the farm looked like with just the silo pieces. But within a few minutes buggy after buggy arrived and all I could photograph were the first two horses that were tied up in the orchard. Then the camera was put away.

There were people everywhere, food everywhere, diapers being changed, lessons in how to flush the toilet…..how to remove the coffee pots from the electric coffee makers. Then the 50′ trailer doors were flung open and the real spectacle began. Out came buggies in pieces, then pieces of wagons, tables and chairs, more tools, bridles, plows, crates of dishes, huge barrels of canned food, more buggy parts, matressses, strange antique farming things, clothing….

All the food to feed the whole group had been brought, carefully packed, in baskets, coolers and boxes by the women. Everything was laid out on the kitchen table ready to go. Then Mrs. Gingerich, Barbara’s mother, came into the kitchen and said that it was such a beautiful day, why not have a picnic? Without a blink – every woman and child in the kitchen picked up all the food, dishes, everything and took it outside. The women rummaged around in the ever growing mountain of Enos and Barbara’s belongings until they unearthed their kitchen table. Then they found planks and crates to set up makeshift benches. Within a matter of minutes we were all sitting in the sunshine enjoying a marvelous picnic lunch.

Everywhere I looked that morning I saw images I yearned to share with you but no photos are allowed. Shall I share a few in words? Imagine 2 little Amish boys, probably 4 and 7, in their blue clothes and little straw hats wrestling with 3 huge milk cans, full of something, that are the same height and diameter as the boys. They huffed and they puffed until they got them up onto a small old green wagon with iron wheels. Not for a moment did they turn around and look for someone’s approval. They simply went on to the next chore smiling all the while.

Then there was the line of young men rolling wagon wheels and buggy wheels, wheels of all diameters out of the trailer, down a ramp and out into the field. It looked like a circus act with 6 boys keeping dozens of wheels rolling and rolling and rolling out of that truck. Clearly they have done this before but it was quite a sight for me. 

The last observation and probably the most wonderful for me was that with all those men working together and all the women working together there was not a single “directive”, not a single “type A” personality rearing up to tell everyone what to do and how to do it. No one ever got frustrated, distressed, grumpy, no knickers in a twist, nothing. When I shared this story with my friends in Stonington they agreed that even our close group of girl friends would never have been able to accomplish all that without disagreeing on how to do it “better”, “correctly”, or “faster”. So this was my first Amish experience, a lesson in harmonious living.

Let me also add before closing that I do fully understand that the Amish are human, have frailities, weaknesses, etc. But I will give them enormous credit for keeping those foibles well under wraps, out of sight and the smiles they shared with one another sure looked genuine to me.  ”Share the road. Share the load. Just share………..” Stay tuned.

Even the deer on Deer Isle sat out this mighty storm. The harbor of Stonington was untouched by Hurricane Sandy. We had high tides that were 2′ higher than normal but no mighty waves pushing the water ashore. The water never got near the top of the fish pier. We didn’t even have any rain. Power went out twice but was restored in a matter of hours. Unlike the poor folks in New York and New Jersey, we sat this one out. Phew….

Each season I am at our farm in Patten seems to become my favorite. This year the foliage was particularly spectacular. And what could make it even more spectacular? A young bull moose coming to visit! 

The other exciting Farm news is that our young Amish family arrives this Friday, October 26th, from Ohio. Enos and Barbara Miller will live on the farm with their baby, Samuel.  They will begin constructing a small building for their horses and buggies. Then, weather permitting (?), they will build a small dwelling and move in. If the weather does not hold, they will spend the winter with Barbara’s parents, Yuria and Elisabeth Gingerich, who live 2 miles down the road. The Gingerichs have 15 children, Barbara being the oldest. So the entire Gingerich clan is very excited to have Barbara, her husband and baby Sam living so close. 

In the Spring there will be a barnraising on the site of the original farm barn that burned many years ago before we purchased the property. Barbara and Enos’s dwelling will be on the far side of the new barn out of sight from Mountain Glory Farmhouse. So our guests will see lots of activity on the farm but the Millers will have some privacy.

Since taking photos of Amish people is not allowed, I will be taking pictures of their progress. Stay tuned and watch a new Amish dairy farm in the making! WooWoo!

If you’re within striking distance of Deer Isle, please join us in celebrating our first Local Foods Festival on September 28th through 30th. This is a new Chamber sponsored event and will offer several interesting workshops including cider pressing, fermentation, jam making and, of course, how to catch a lobster! The weekend schedule is posted on the Chamber’s website www.deerisle.com  The foliage should be beautiful that weekend also. Join us!

      And share the farm! 

Having our farm return to a working farm is a dream come true for me. But I never dreamt Mountain Glory Farm would be part of a new Amish farming community! We are very happy to announce that an Amish family will be moving to the Farm in October 2012 to set up residence and begin traditional farming. Several Old Order Amish families moved to our local area last November from Ohio.

The eldest married child of one of these families will be moving to the Farm to begin dairy farming. Enos and Barbara Miller will build a small dwelling and an Amish barn and silo opposite our (newly reclaimed) heirloom apple orchard.

I have been reading as much as possible in order to better understand Amish culture. Subsequently, I discovered that some of the assumptions I had from visiting Lancaster, PA many years ago do not apply to Old Order Amish communities. Although united in a common religion, the Amish differ greatly in certain customs and traditions. Our newly arrived families from Ohio are from the oldest and most formal Old Order Amish community.

So it is very important that I share with you what life on the farm will be like in the future. Firstly, the two apartments in the farmhouse will continue to be rented as they have in the past. The walking trails may be repositioned slightly to accommodate the farm animals but will cover the same territory on the farm as before. The farm is still yours to enjoy including our wonderful reclaimed orchard!

The only major change is that our guests will be asked to follow a few courtesies that our Amish tenants require in order to live in peace on this farm. Those courtesies are as follows:

1^st and foremost:  No photos please, from any distance, of Amish people. Old Order Amish  are very, very serious about this as it is against their religious beliefs. So please do not even consider asking them for a photo. Feel free to photograph the farm, the animals and the views.

2.  Since our Amish family will grow their own food, do not use electricity, do not drive any  form of motorized vehicle or farm equipment, and have an infant son, their time is very precious. So we ask that you exchange pleasantries but not engage them in long conversations. A friendly wave will suffice. I put all the Amish books I read in the apartments for you to read. Most likely, the answers to your many questions about Amish life are in those books. Or you can email me at info@mountaingloryfarm.com and I will try to help.

3.   Please do not feed their farm animals.

4.   Please respect their “private” residential space which is marked on the map of the farm.

There will be many extended family members visiting the Millers and helping them develop the farm. So you may see a dozen or more Amish at any given time coming or going in buggies or working in various fields. The courtesies listed here apply to all Amish people on the farm. **Please note that young Amish children do not learn to speak English until they are 6 to 7 years old. They only speak their native Pennsylvania Dutch dialect. Therefore the children are quite shy and may not respond to your friendly overtures.

Lastly, and on a very personal note, the temptation to “record” images of my Amish neighbors lingers with me all the time. I have discovered how truly spoiled I am at not being able to “have what I want” photo-wise. Watching my neighbors work and play and raise a 5 story barn this past June and work in the fields with their horses and wagons is like being in another world. It is impossible not to want to record these amazing photographic images but your cooperation is imperative. 

                                 With warm regards,    Christina Shipps & Glenn Gray

The schooners (windjammers) are the harbingers of summer on the Maine coast. We are so lucky to have them appear right off our harbor deck. And speaking of right off our deck – the fireworks for the 4th of July can be viewed right from our deck. Life is good here in Stonington!