I think we all knew it back in 2023 when, by fate, I called up the number on a business card that was handed to me at a local prefab shed store for excavation services. I was greeted by a voice on the other line that came with an accent I couldn’t place. It sounded like Old English meets Dutch or German, and as I listened to this man on the phone, I realized I was speaking with an Amish gentleman.
They came to my 6.74 acres I had just purchased with a loan from Farm Credit East to give me an estimate for a gravel driveway. I immediately accepted. I knew from the moment I met them that I trusted them. And likewise in return.
I went on to write an entire series on here about the different things the Amish built for me on my land. They blew my mind time-and-time again. I documented what I was witnessing on social media. The content went immediately viral. I didn’t know if they’d like being that viral on social media… until the day came when they asked me for marketing advice. I realized, as truly entrepreneurial beings, that they were appreciative and even grateful for my videos. I joked to people around me that I would, one day, “go into business with the Amish.” That is probably still true.
Years have gone by since they built my driveway for me. We’ve been through new builds, permitting problems, and now solar encroachment together.
There’s an invisible string keeping me connected to this group - and neither one of us attempts to deny it any longer.
From my barn build to residential barndominiums
When I received a text from the Amish about documenting some of their finished projects this week, I smiled. I have a deep appreciation for architecture and adding beauty to surrounding landscapes (you know, the opposite of destroying it for solar industrial complexes).
They lined up an itinerary for me that day. I went to one of their completed barndominium builds not far from my farm.
Back in 2023, they were a new excavation company on the scene, grateful for my business while they worked to get their operation off the ground. To see where they are today, building gorgeous homes in the countryside… made me incredibly happy.
When I asked them about how many residential builds they take on today, they told me, “We build homes in the winter because of the temperatures, and stick to excavation in the summer while it’s nice out.”
Since the Amish out-work any other professional I have known in the construction space, one of their drivers told me that many construction companies won’t take on new residential builds during our brutal winters. Don’t worry… the Amish will! It’s that kind of work ethic that made me instantly hire them back in 2023. It’s permanently embedded in their Amish culture.
The exterior of the structure was as beautiful as ever, with the traditional Amish embellishments, like roof points, hemlock wood, and mortise and tenon joinery accents.
The Amish sure know how to build an entryway!
Seeing the old crew in action
From there, I drove out to Canajoharie, New York, where I watched BluRail Excavating in action, effortlessly excavating and laying roadways, parking lots, and walking paths like experts. Their ease-of-use with skid steers and bulldozers needs to be studied.
And yes, they are Amish and not Mennonite. Every Amish order is run by a bishop. The bishop gets to decide how modern the order is allowed to be. By my land in Greenwich, New York, the Amish are very traditional and would never use modern equipment. But the Amish orders in Montgomery County are more open to technology for business purposes.
Most of them are transplants from the Lancaster, Pennsylvania region.
Standing there, watching them excavate with precision felt like no time has passed since 2023. Like I did back then, I stood there with their driver and talked with him about their Amish community, changes, goals, and English (non-Amish) interactions with their growing business. There’s nothing more fascinating to me.
After that, it was time to go see one final completed property that day in Sloansville, New York. We made a pit stop at Stewart’s, where they insisted on buying me a coffee and filling my gas tank before driving 30-minutes east, near one of the proposed monstrous ORES (Office of Renewable Energy Siting) solar complexes (Mill Point Solar).
One of the Amish brothers requested he ride with me on that drive, behind their driver. We chatted about marketing, their business, having a video completed for their website (I would love nothing more than to shoot and edit a 20-second intro video for their website), and most importantly, the threat of ORES solar.
“Green progress” is destroying the Amish community in New York State
Normally, the Amish keep out of American politics. They don’t believe in suing. They don’t run candidates for office. They are a peaceful group that keeps to themselves - and they like it that way.
But the threat of industrial ORES solar complexes, like Flat Creek Solar, which measure thousands of acres in size, threaten their way of life. The Amish rely on the ability to get around by horse and foot. When thousands of acres are cut off by perimeter fencing in the middle of their communities, they can no longer do that. Their children can’t walk to school.
As a group of people who try to live without technology in their homes, they don’t want their kids staring at a dystopian hellscape on land that was once pasture for cattle. It’s common sense.
The Amish of New York are worried about what is going to happen to their homes. ORES doesn’t properly inform or engage them in the permitting process. Even if they did, it still doesn’t matter since ORES issues final permits 100% of the time. The Amish know this. They are incredibly smart.
And so they are worried, and rightfully so. They will have to leave our state if these complexes are built inside of their homes. I consider the Amish my family. The majority of every New York town should get a say in what happens to the town. But we don’t with ORES - we’ve lost our home rule.
We talked about home rule a lot in the car. We also talked about foreign intervention. He shared with me that their Amish community watches my posts and read them as a way to stay informed. Who would’ve thought when I met them years ago I’d end up a quasi-Amish reporter. I am honored to be that for them.
We finally pulled up to their final build they wanted to show me. It was stunning. Though, the owner does not want the interior shown online - understood.
The Amish thanked me for what I am doing on here. They know it takes a toll on me, feeling like a David many times versus a Goliath. The Albany press keeps calling - they are determined to misunderstand my reporting. I suppose it’s part of the journey calling out a system so corrupt that the money-laundering extends into other countries.
I will continue to be that person for myself, the wildlife, and the Amish.
P.S. BluRail Excavating is open for business! Call them. Their number is in the photo at the start of this article.
FURTHER READING
Living in a solar industrial wasteland: one woman's account from Byron, New York
Our brains often “tune out” background noise and habitual sights and sounds that we have come to accept as safe. Instead, our minds scan for disruptions, danger, and exceptions in an effort to stay alive for another day. It’s how your ancestors before you survived long enough to pass on their genes.
Circumventing New York's green energy grift: I went to Washington D.C. this week
I never imagined back in September 2025 when I first posted about the Fort Edward Solar hearing in the town over from mine that it would land me at a Washington D.C. press conference inside of the USDA.
Our only option is to sue: 4 lawsuits filed in Montgomery County, NY against ORES solar
If the Office of Renewable Energy Siting (ORES) will have its way with forcibly siting commercial solar in Montgomery County, New York, against the wishes of the residents, county attorney, and elected officials, then the county will play host to over 18,800 acres of panels anchored into prime farmland.
Look at those support columns under those entrance roofs! They could easily hold up during a Buffalo blizzard. 😄
Here’s a group of people who ask very little of the government. They are an industrious, peaceful, members of society. You don’t see them in line at the welfare or snap benefits office. Nor are they recipients of Section 8 housing vouchers.
And yet the grifters and goldbrickers in Albany feel the need to trample all over their lifestyle. 😡
Thank you for all the hard work you do to keep us informed. As soon as I saw this piece I read it. I am humbled by the quality of your work, and of your chosen families work.