I arrived Thursday evening in Lancaster County, will be staying with Amish friends here for the next several days.

I was out and about yesterday and snapped a few photos to share. It was a brisk, beautiful morning.

Below are a few of the things I saw. I meant to post this for you yesterday, but let’s just say the internet is limited around here šŸ™‚ :

Before the lights went on.

pre-dawn-lancaster-county

Things got brighter quickly.

beautiful-sunrise-lancaster-pa




School bells ring at 8:15.

school-bell-lancaster-co

Lancaster County is a rural county but at the same time home to nearly half a million people. The roads buggies share with cars can be busy.

amish-buggy-lancaster-road

A typical Lancaster farm.

december-2016-amish-farm

Lancaster County is full of interesting place names. Stumptown is just one of many. Previously home to many trees, perhaps? Anyway, thataway to Stumptown Mennonite Church.

stumptown-mennonite-church-sign

Bird-in-Hand Bake Shop.

bird-in-hand-bake-shop

The Bank of Bird-in-Hand. This is a recently-opened Amish-backed financial institution we’ve written about here before. Don’t let the modest exterior fool you;Ā in its first year of operations itĀ tallied over $60 million in loans.

bank-of-bird-in-hand-dec-2016

A typical LancasterĀ farm.

december-2016-amish-farm

Old cemeteries are always interesting to me. You pass them frequently driving around the county. Amish cemeteries typically have a distinct look, often enclosed by a white picket fence.

cemetery-lanc-co-dec

Barn near aĀ historic mill.

barn-drive-lanc

“Downtown” Intercourse. This is the center of tourist activity in the community.

buggy-downtown-intercourse-amish

Seen outside a local business. “Denkie fa da gaul sie scheisse uf picka!”

Even if you don’t speak Pennsylvania Dutch, you can probably figure out what that means.

horse-rail-pa-dutch

This time in English, outside the Pequea Valley Public Library.

please-clean-up-after-your-horses

Some clouds on the horizon which suggested to me thatĀ snow or something was happening. A few flurries came down near me later in the day, but not too much. It sure felt cold enough for it.

On that note, I have beenĀ sleeping in the mostly unheated upstairs of my friend’s home so that means extra blankets and a sleeping cap. I always seem to sleep better in the cold though.

clouds-horizon-lancaster

A cupola business, also Intercourse area. I remember stopping in here when selling books in the area, almost ten years ago now. They didn’t buy. But nice cupolas.

lancaster-county-cupolas

Happy New Year to everyone. Thanks for all your visits and contributions here. I hope your 2017 is great.

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