Muddy Pond barns

We drove over to Muddy Pond on Saturday to pick up some last-minute Christmas gifts at the Mennonite-operated general store there. They have high-quality grain products packaged in bulk and some really excellent cheeses that you simply can't get in a supermarket. Although I took a camera, I wasn't feeling very creative and it stayed in its case. I then faced the reality of needing something for the blog after I got home, so it was into the files with Muddy Pond still on my mind.

The old pole barn, above, is on the road into Muddy Pond and I don't think it sees much use any more. But I think it has character and I have shots from several angles. The next two barns are both owned by Mennonite families.

The Mazlin family's barn sits between their house and the molasses shed. In the fall you can watch them crush the sorghum cane, cook the syrup, and buy jars of still-warm molasses at the shed. The picnic table in front of their house always has containers of molasses and, in season, watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkins, or tomatoes. There will be a jar in which you can leave payment, and make change if you need to. A knock on their door and Mrs. Mazlin may have fresh-baked bread or pastries for sale. This barn, by the way, is the one shown in the December 10, 2011, Silent Saturday posting.

This barn is on land belonging to the Schrock family. Although they are now in Africa on a three-year missionary trip, we previously bought honey and sweet corn from them. We also for several years picked our own blueberries from their field of cultivated blueberry bushes. It was always a nice summer outing, and much cheaper than buying blueberries in the store. Fred was always apologetic if the bushes had been picked over, making picking go slower. We had to explain to him that the picking and the time in the field were at least as important as the blueberries we would be taking home.