Slightly off topic ...

On Dec 31, 2009, at 7:12 PM, Lee Rentz wrote:

> We got a Christmas card from an old friend in upstate New York, who
> described going to photograph Snowy Owls during a great irruption
> year in her area. The interesting thing is, she said that Amish
> people would drive their buggies out in the country to see the owls,
> and recalls one young bearded man who watched the owls with
> binoculars, his bird book open on the buggy seat. I shouldn't
> necessarily be surprised, but I love apparent contradictions like
> this.


An Amish love of nature doesn't surprise me (and you neither I
expect). But neither should the use of binoculars. The Amish aren't
luddites they just have an interesting relationship with technology
governed by "The Ordnung". I can see birding with optics especially
with others as having "Gelassenheit" just so long as you are not being
vain picking your brand of binocular.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish#Modern_technology
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordnung#Technology

There is rather "well known" store in Amish country, the "Lost Creek
Shoe Shop" that sells shoes, and bikes, and hunting equipment and ...
top class binoculars. It doesn't have electric light though -- it's
all natural light from skylights to light the interior. They do have a
outside covered observation deck that looks out over fields, streams,
hills and distant mountains that provide a good setting for evaluating
optics.

If you'd like to read more about this see this thread from
birdforum.net with quite a few photos of the bins and the buildings.

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=99221

And a PDF of their advert in the Lewistown Sentinel showing their bins:

http://lewistownsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/516701.html?nav=5230

Directions for the curious: To get there from State College, PA (about
an hour), take Route 322 about 12 miles beyond Lewistown and take the
exit marked 35N and proceed northeast on Rte 35 for 4 miles toward
Oakland Mills (If you reach McAlisterville, turn around and try
again). As you enter Oakland Mills, watch carefully for a left turn
and a sign for the shop which can be easy to miss . Turn left onto
Oakland Rd (a large stone house is on the left at the turn), go .6
miles, and the Shop is on the left at 643 Oakland Rd, Mifflintown, PA.

I've never been but if I'm birding in Amish country (only an hour away
from PSU) I'll stop by!
--
Kevin Purcell
kevinpurcell at pobox.com
twitter: at kevinpurcell