Amish people

I met an Amish family. They live in a valley with over a hundred acres. There are more than ten children -- the oldest married, and the youngest few running around in bowl haircuts and suspenders and impish smiles. The boys look exactly like Lukas Haas. They cluster around the window on the top floor of the hospital, pulling up all the blinds and pointing with excitement at the city spread out below them.

The family trains horses and ponies. They have chickens for eggs, and cows that give them milk. They do organic farming and sell their produce to local stores. They raise and sell roses too. Every couple of months, they put up some homemade wine. They make a salve of beeswax, comfrey and other herbs which they also sell. It is good for chapped cow udders, and in people it can be used for a number of skin ailments. They gave some to one of the nurses when she mentioned that her son has psoriasis. They are very friendly and blunt, without guile, and have a sly sense of humor and a nice way of teasing eachother. There are always seven or ten or fifteen of them together. Even the youngest girl wears a bonnet, though the little boys sometimes go hatless. The adults strike up conversations with other patients in the hallways, befriending them quickly and inviting them to come visit their farm.