Anomalies in Intercouse

I needed quilt batting--I'm a fan of a particular kind--and made the trip to Zook's Dry Goods in Intercourse, PA to stock up. I wanted to get there before tourist season heats up and turns what should be an errand into an expedition.

I've got nothing against tourists, I am one myself from time to time, but they clog the narrow roads when they come to gawk at the Amish. I can understand the gawking. I passed (slowly!) several dozen buggies yesterday, and I am not jaded to their charms. I also savored some of the delicious anomalies of life in Lancaster County, like a buggy pulling up to an ATM machine, or a shop lit by gas lights that has an electronic cash register. The Plain people are not really technophobes, they just pick and choose what they will allow in order to protect a way of life they value.

Things are changing rapidly here. There's not enough farmland to go around anymore and provide a living to everyone in a large family, so many Plain sect members have jobs in small businesses or construction. And many are reliant, at least tangentially, on the tourism industry, even as they seek to lead private and quiet lives.

None of which explains that tree. It's in the parking lot behind Zooks, and for reasons inexplicable to me a section of the trunk is covered in sheet metal. Whatever the cause, it's a wonderful visual anomaly.