We were invited to take a tour of the Miller family’s new house, the family moved in a couple of weeks ago, and they are pleased to be living in a home again. Moise and his fellow workers did a fantastic job; the floors are beautiful, the rooms wide and open, the insulation very effective.

You can see the wisdom and lessons of 500 years of Amish home building in this house; the windows are beautiful and big and tight, the house is bright and inviting.

There is a huge laundry room an oversized mudroom for dirty parking boots. The house is snug and warm and has a beautiful view of the valley around it. I’m not a construction expert, but the place seems solid as a rock, and the wooden floors are a work of art.

We were impressed by how warm the house was and how bright. It was built with light and comfort, and space in mind. Moise and his crew and his family did a fantastic job.

it was a family project; the children worked hard on painting, sawing, climbing, and carrying lumber.

The horses worked right alongside the family, as horses have done with builders and farmers for centuries. The animal rights groups consider this abuse, I consider many of them a threat to animals everywhere.

There is a schoolroom upstairs for the children to learn, and the basement holds a vast and beautiful supply of canned vegetables and fruit and sausage and meat.

The kitchen is well equipped for the baked goods; the foodshed is moving to a spot just below the house.

I was impressed. Moise was sitting in the living room smoking his pipe and chatting with neighbors. He looked smug and contented.

I was happy to see it. I’m sorry not to share pictures, but I didn’t want to walk in there with a camera in my hand.

Early next week, I’m driving Moise and his son John to a local hospital for a medical procedure that is pretty routine but will perhaps be painful as well.

I’m taking him early in the morning and bringing him home when the surgery is done. He’s in great spirits, joking and telling stories and talking construction with his pal Mark, a neighbor.

He wanted books on local history to read as he recovers and I got him four, I’ll give them to him on Monday.

John is coming with us.

The house is a fantastic achievement, Herculean, and a testament to the skill and work ethic of the Amish. I’ve never in my life seen people work so hard, so well together, and so efficiently.

There are a lot of lessons for us in their way of life.

They are master builders, powers, and farmers.

Moise and his family have transformed their farm from an abandoned and ugly piece of abandoned farm to a green, thriving, and increasingly beautiful working farm.

These people know how to work hard, and their range of skills is astonishing. I was blessed to see it and write about it.

Moise plans to build a house for every one of his children; his working days are just getting underway.