Of Amish and Costa Rican Cloud Forests

While my mother was visiting we saw many interesting things in the area. I've put up a few pictures of two of the places we went. The first set of pictures is from the botanical gardens in Cleveland . The second set of pictures is from our visit to the Amish country here in Ohio.

Step into the jungle:


There were lots of butterflies in the cloud forest, this one was a mesmerizing blue when it opened its wings:

Two of the butterflies loved my mom:

Orchids bloomed everywhere:

And lots of other colorful flowers:

It was misty, hot and humid in the cloud forest:

The Amish country was a bit different. The Amish are a religious order that came here from Germany. They eschew modern technology and live simply without mechanization and things like electricity. Here's how they get around:

This is a typical Amish farmstead. There is often more than one house close together. When Children grow up and marry, they take over the large house and a smaller one is built for Grandma and Grandpa:

The women wear their hair up and a bonnet over that. Bonnets are stored over cans so that the backs stay flat:

Here is a kitchen garden kept near the house:

Farm buildings:

This is a pie safe that is inside a home that you can tour which was built in 1866. Hot pies are placed in the pie safe and they cool down inside. The holes in the tin front are for circulation:

The buggies are on the roadways so motorists have to take care in the Amish country:

Here's an Amish man (dark clothing, straw hat) selling handmade baskets on the roadside:

A team of workhorses plowing a field (I took this picture as we drove past - hence only the horses and not the plowman and his plow):

And those are just two of the places we visited during my mom's stay. We had lots of fun!