It was nice to hear the familiar yell of “Hey, Johnny-Boy” this morning as my Amish friend Moise came running down the hill to say hello and offer some help when Maria and I stopped by to buy some strawberries and cucumbers.

What Moise has done with that farm is astonishing and inspiring, he has twice as many things to sell as last year, and the far is a miracle, covered in green produce and fruit.

He really brought that dying place to life and did it almost single-handedly.

Moise walked me through his immigration system once more; indeed, it is a marvel and I never tire of hearing about it.

I was there almost from the beginning, and the hard work and progress have been a marvel.

Moise is fully recovered from his hernia surgery, and the food shed is loaded with berries, cucumber, squash, and garlic scapes, above, something I hadn’t seen before.

Moise gave me a bunch to take home. Maria says it will go well with our new eating plans.

 

Moise had some things on his mind. He wanted to make it clear that he was happy to see me.

He wanted to make it clear he wanted to help, they heard that I was sick and were concerned.

He offered to send some of the older children to our farm to help us stock the firewood we are receiving.

He keeps an eye on the farm when he drives by. Whenever he sees that wood has been delivered, he offers to help.

Maria declined, she loves to do it herself. But she did ask for some help (we will pay, of course) in skirting our wool before taking it to the mill. Moise said sure.

Moise is also accepting my offer to put a sign up on the side of our Southern pasture, announcing that fresh food and vegetables were on sale a quarter of a mile up the road.

This will help bring people to Miller’s food shed and alert them to be prepared to slow or stop for safety reasons.

It felt as if our old friendship has slipped right back into place. We were open and accessible, and we knew a lot about each other. We just picked up where we left off.

I’m not going to be driving him around again or taking visitors to and from bus and train stations. That was too much. But our friendship remains. I understand that it will never be simple or easy for someone like me to be friends with someone like him.

But I suppose the challenge makes it meaningful, even important. I love the man and his fiercely independent and determined spirit. He has worked miracles with the land.

I’ll put up photos I’ve already taken sometimes, but I’m not taking new ones of anything except the food shed. That doesn’t seem to be an issue.

In fact, my friendship with Moise is one of my life’s most exciting and unusual experiences, and it is important to me.

Despite its challenges, neither of us has given up on it.

It is also essential to him; the man has no guile.

It was nice to be speaking with him this morning and to see his pride in showing me the work he has done.

He and the family could not have made me feel more welcome than they have in the past few weeks.

After Moise and I talked, he went over to say hello to Zinnia, and I did some thumb wrestling. I’m bringing Barbara some flowers this morning, and once a week from now on.

These kids are more robust and more significant than they were last summer.

I have some work to do. I’m out of practice. I’m not giving up.

I won one round and lost one round.

Moise is working on the food ahead sign now and will bring it to the farm shortly. I’m happy to have it here.

It is a blessing to have good neighbors and exciting friends. Life is full of crisis and mystery.  I love the chance to learn and grow.

I am in awe of life’s wonder, grateful for the gifts it has brought me.