S. U. C. C. E. S. S. - The word on all our lips at close of the Lords day. Took us the weekend in fits and starts but we got all the hay baled that was down in our field and neighbor Bills with whom we co-op efforts. (no, we didnt get rained on Saturday!) Our big plan to cram it all in on Saturday came to naught as the cloudy, cool day prevented proper drying of my hay field that had been mowed Thursday afternoon. Bill had put about 6 acres total, divided between two fields, down on Wednesday, the majority of which was sufficiently dry by Saturday afternoon. That part, totaling 115 bales, went into Bills barn without incident. Lots of effort however, especially by Andrew who has the job of heaving the bales from the wagon into the loft. I spent this time raking my field in preparation for baling it when Bills first field was done. The original intention was to do Bills big field first, then mine, then if we still had any gas left (in us, not the tractors) wed tackle Bills second field. Alas, the best laid plans ------ after finishing field #1 we started on the field down here but quickly decided it was still too damp in a few places to bale up. Now if it had been bale it as is or risk it getting rained on wed have gone ahead and baled then sorted through and isolated the heavier, slightly damp bales. These could have been stood on end in tripod configurations under cover for a few days before stacking; a quick guess was that would have been necessary with around 1/4 of the field (50 bales). Could also have left those areas lying in the field and let them get rained on while baling up the sure bet areas. Generally that leaves you with ruined hay that still needs to be baled up off the field resulting in lots of mulch - not a pleasant prospect. But since Sundays weather prediction was for clear sailing we werent under pressure to do anything except find the patience to wait another day. So we passed on my field and just went about getting chores and (fried chicken, fresh garden beans and cole slaw with hunks of sourdough bread slathered with home made butter) dinner out of the way. This took us up to 7 p.m. Leaving a couple of hours of daylight. And the rest of Bills hay was now plenty dry. Even though son Paul had gone home - he was our other main wagon loading labor - Andrew and I decided we could manage between the two of us to facilitate getting that hay up. We figured there only to be about 70 bales and it was destined for my barn; Phil and his dad plus Janel would be here to help unload it when we got back home. Again, the best laid plans ---- another 115 big, tight, hefty bales later, stacked 9 rows high and riding solid as a rock later, Andrew and me soaked in sweat and muscles aching later, guess we underestimated on that later, its going on 9 oclock and were too beat tonight so lets unload it in the morning later finds us finally heading back with wagon in tow. Only to find Janel, Phil and his dad Jim standing up by the barn, gloves on with lets do this smiles in place. Oy. But many hands make light work and the hay was off the wagon and in the barn in no time. Long cold drinks of water, cool showers, and hey, we have home made chocolate chip ice cream brought the day to a close. Yesterday afternoon we resumed operations and cleaned my field of now perfectly dry hay. Great work crew with son Pauls return plus Andrew of course and the addition of his girlfriend Karen, me, Phil and Jim, Janel, plus good friends Christine, her son Praise, and nephew Cody all pitching in. These latter folks are Barbara Lees family, thus ours by proxy. Barbara was here too; she supervised. Success.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 11:31:44 +0000
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