auction for the Amish

At the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, at the nation’s first major horse auction of the year, the activity bustles along like a well-oiled buggy.
Amish from all over the country come here to buy and sell their massive draft horses and magnificent harness horses. It also draws non-Amish horse fans, lured by the “Cadillac” quality of the animals, and vendors of everything from saddles to buggies to custom-made harnesses.

Strange to think that a dream or philosophy, however quaint or sophisticated, always boils down to the details. Someone's gotta make this clock tick. There is housing and nourishment and sweat and the tools to make it all possible. In this case, horse-drawn carriages and harrows don't work without the horses and the men to judge their fitness, so ....

On my wall, there is an Amish-made baby-quilt -- a wedding gift from a friend. It is patchwork, but the subtle, hand-stitched designs camouflaged within its borders ... it is nice to think such things exist in a world of merchants and merchandizers. To take the trouble to make one beautiful thing and not look back ... somewhere there is singing.