Today was my much anticipated mental health day off and trip to Amish country with my friends Bronagh and Andrew and my daughter Kathryn.  It was a great day. The weather was perfect and we took a very interesting buggy ride through Amish and Mennonite farms and actually got to stop and tour an Amish dairy farm.

The father and two of the children are up at 5 am milking the cows for two hours and then back at 5 pm for another two hours of milking. The farmer has a contract with Land O’Lakes, which picks up the milk every other day and according to the chart on the wall, picked up 9700+ pounds of milk the last pickup. That’s a lot of milk. The cows have a nutritionist, no joke, who provides the farmer with the right mix of feed.

One of the sons of the farmer sold us homemade cookies and pretzels along with lemonade and homemade root beer. Andrew said the root beer reminded him of some sort of cough medicine from home in Ireland so he wasn’t a fan.  I thought it tasted good though. Not a bad gig for the kid allowing us to all gawk at him. He was also selling painted horseshoes for $5. He’s got quite the business.

The farm land is truly beautiful and so picturesque. After our buggy ride and a late lunch, we took a ride around by ourselves through the small towns surrounding Bird in Hand. Must be strange to have people just driving by staring at you all the time but let’s face it, it is a fascinating lifestyle.

I was so thankful to have an adventure with Bronagh before she heads home and to see Andrew, who’s back this summer. Lots of laughs. Lots of sharing of memories. Lots of memories made.

Today from my IPod I picked, “Thank You for Being a Friend.” I’m so thankful for my circle of friends and thankful that I got to spend time with two of them today.