In Lancaster County, having a good work ethic is very important and this family is learning all the nuances of spring planting as they walk beside and watch the process. Big sister is carrying little brother on her back after he grew tired and she carried him a good hundred yards down the field.There are actually two more people just below the driver at ground level on seats and they place the plants in the ground as the hole is made.

Four brothers are decked out in their favorite hats and shoes as they go shopping with mom.

A young Amish lad waits patiently for the rest of the family to head out in the buggy.

This is the kind of shot I really enjoy capturing because it is spontaneous, very fleeting and a moment you never see coming till it unfolds right in front of you. I managed to snap seven quick images from the car of them picking dandelions, before they noticed me and that was all she wrote.Everything came together in this brief moment,from their positions to the tree framing them in the background.

Unique architecture adds to the ambiance on a wet spring day.

I wish I owned this thing just so I could haul it around and photograph it. I am not sure why you would let something so nice sit outside in the rain when there is a barn thirty feet away but what do I know? There is a second carriage located here that looks like it was made for cinderella and I shot that a while back. If you want to see that shot,search my site for The stroke of midnight. Again it is hard to pick which version I like best.

This compact model can actually fit under the bar.I guess it is the Amish equivalent of the smart car.

Three Amish boys huddle under one umbrella as they head to church services on a rainy sunday.

Dusk settles in at this farm in rural Lancaster county and the lights come on to add a warm touch on a cool evening.

If you have dandelion in your yard and think it is a problem, consider this farm field and you might have a different outlook. Should check back in a week and see if all those seeds took hold.

Passed this property in the rain and was drawn to the lighted lanterns at the entrance.

I think I actually like the black and white over the color in this instance.

Two young Amish girls discuss where they are going to sit to watch the guys play softball.

This Lancaster county farm field is a lovely mix of green and yellow.

This is a shot I took last Christmas and actually forgot to work on. So in the process of archiving files,I came across the almost forgotten shot. It was an involved shot and I almost dreaded working on it, but the owners were so nice the night I shot it, I felt compelled to finish it,even if it is several months late.

Azaleas are in full bloom on this property. A rainy day had the colors saturated and rich and using an umbrella kept the camera dry.

A local museum is holding an exhibit on dinosaurs and they had two on display outside. They had a motion sensor which complicated things for me because I often shoot multiple exposures and visitors kept stopping and setting the thing in motion. It was very natural in the way it moved. The two versions shown were shot in infrared for the black and white version and color for the version where I lit everything with flash.

A variety of VWs are lined up for spectators to enjoy at the recent HAVOC VW show. Skies looked a little threatening but the rain held off making for a great show.

This VW was one that caught my eye at the show. It had a beautiful blue color and a picnic basket under the hood. It was shined up to the hilt for the event.

Been a while since I felt like shooting something, so I decided to head to the local library in the rain and see what I could come up with. The entrance had some colorful tulips and the glow from inside seemed to make it worth the effort.

For me there is nothing more frustrating than seeing something photogenic and not being able to capture it. The image gets burned into my mind and the thought of missing it lingers. I was driving around looking for images and out of nowhere appears thirty or more Amish youth flying along on scooters like a motorcycle gang. Traffic was backed up and in the minute it took to turn around and try and get ahead of them, they had already split into three separate smaller groups taking different roads. I don’t think I have ever seen a group so large and unified on scooters before and probably never will again. This shot of the one girl hauling the volleyball net was all I could capture.

This little Amish boy is barely bigger than the croquet mallet he is using but he is getting busy setting up the game in the back yard.

Rows of plastic line the fields as farmers prepare to start the growing season in rural Lancaster county.

This buggy must have somewhere to be in a hurry as he passes another buggy. Hard to imagine he could fit any more reflectors on the back.

This post is not really about photography but I figured I would share my latest creation that I did over the winter. We live along a rail trail and I decided to do something special for those who pass by our property, so I created what has affectionately become known to locals as the Gnome village. This latest building I made is a flower shop and was done without any plans and basically I just wing it as I go. I had the old scroll S on the front and after much contemplation,came up with Sherwood Florist as the name to go with it. The bottom photo shows the interior,which can be seen through the windows. Anyone on facebook can visit my personal gnome facebook site by searching Nibbles McGibbles, who is my alter ego I guess.

Drove around looking for spring photos the other day and was somewhat surprised to see Easter egg hunts being held at multiple one room Amish schools. For whatever reason I just never thought the Amish would take part in what I would call a secular tradition. I always say no matter how long I live in Amish country, I learn something new quite frequently. These boys are on their way  home from the egg hunt and each has his own Easter basket or bucket.