Make Hay...

....While the sun shines.    Have you ever heard that expression?   I'm sure most of us have.   Around here it's time to cut the hay and farmers all over the plateau are closely watching the weather forecasts to determine when they might have 3-5 days of dry weather.  You don't want to cut hay when it's going to rain, as the hay could develop mold while lying on the ground which renders it almost useless as feed for the farm animals.

  I've enjoyed watching the locals pitch in and help one another.   The equipment necessary to cut , line up, and bale the hay is very large and very expensive.   We've been behind more tractors on the road lately, each of them hauling the most interesting farm equipment.   They seem to go from farm to farm, working one field and then the next.   It's a perfect example of a community working together to bring in every one's harvest.

 I've seen the farmers working in tandem, one tractor taking the lead as he cuts the 2 foot hay down and the next tractor uses a tool with whirling fingers that "rake" the hay into rows.  After a day or two another tractor comes on the scene and gathers up the hay that was neatly put into rows and forms it into enormous round bales that are bound and ready for storage.   There is something so pastoral and beautiful about rounding the bend of the road and coming upon a field with it's harvest all baled up and ready for storage.

The huge bales drop out of the baling machine and randomly dot the fields with their bulk.

Then the farmer moves them around with fork lift tines attached to the front of his tractor and places them in neat rows, waiting for a flat bed truck to move them to the barn for storage.

And then the whole growing, cutting, baling process begins again.  Around here, haying happens in June and August, and if the weather is just right the farmers can get one more harvest in October.   I never thought much about hay but find I'm more interested now that we are surrounded by cattle and horse farms that depend on hay to feed their critters.   It's just part of the cycle of life on the farm.

Maybe we need a cow, too?
Debbie