Hayin'

We had a very busy week:

Wednesday: All weather reports were certain that clear, dry weather would remain through Monday so Art cut about 17 acres of hay.

Thursday: The weather reports changed and we now have a 50% chance of rain after 9:00pm. We were hoping for the best.

Friday: The chance of rain increased to 70% after 9:00pm. I was frantically checking the radar every 15 minutes watching a storm system make it's way towards our hay. Art rushed home from work (leaving a very unhappy boss) to rake and start baling the hay. I left work at 3:00 and drove like hell to get home as I fast as I could to help. We began baling at 4:00 as the sky was getting darker in the West. It started spitting around 7:30 when we had 3/4 of the field done- I have never prayed so hard in my life.

(A note about hay: Once you cut the grass, or 'hay', you let it dry for a day or two, then flip it over, or 'rake' it and allow it to dry another day. If the hay gets wet before you rake it, it's not the end of the world and is still feed-able. If it rains after the hay has been raked you get what I like to call "sh-t hay" (sorry, Grandma); it's brown and dusty and just not good. While beef cows will eat any kind of hay, dairy cows are more particular and it is ingrained in Art to make the best hay possible. If you bale the hay while it's still wet, it will mold and heat- many a barn has burned down because the hay gets so hot it catches on fire. Hay is stressful and I hate it.)

We were able to finish baling the hay and, with the help of our friend Josh, we got all the wagons inside or covered with tarps. It continued to rain all night.

Saturday: Our friends Andrew, Emily and Joey came over to help us unload the hay (Emily and Joey were visiting from Chicago and even though I told them we were going to be unloading hay, I don't think they thought it would be four wagon loads...) We unloaded two wagon loads- about 350 bales. Joey and Andrew unloaded the bales on to the elevator (see picture below) while I took them off the elevator and Art stacked them in the mow (the top of the barn). It took about three hours and after, the beer was flowing.

Sunday: All of our help went home so it was up to Art and I to unload one last wagon (actually, we ran out of wagons and used his car trailer) I unloaded the bales on the elevator and Art stacked them- this time about 100 bales. There is still a full wagon load (about 150 bales) in the corn crib, but Art will just sell those bales first.

Monday: Art rushed home after work to rake the water-way hay since he didn't rake it Friday knowing we wouldn't get it baled before it rained. We had also cut about 5 acres of hay that is owned by a friend with the full intention of baling it for ourselves, but we just didn't have time so our friend ended up round baling it for himself.

(Another note about hay: Our main field is the good stuff- timothy, clover and alfalfa grasses that cows love. We also mow the 'water-ways' of one of our neighbors- these are the grassy areas you see around corn/bean fields. There is some alfalfa, but it's mostly just grass but it still makes good hay)

Again, I drove like hell to get home to start baling hay. We finally got started about 7:30. The water-way didn't take as long, about an hour and a half and it was only one wagon load (another 100 bales). It was pretty good stuff, even though it was rained on but, like I said, beef cows aren't picky.

We had a grand total of about 700 bales. That's a lot of hay. And it was only first cut. Two more to go (but hopefully not for another five or six weeks)....




Loading bales on to the bale elevator

Some of the hay in the mow

Raking the hay

Itsy Bitsy Spider...

As I passed through the kitchen yesterday morning I walked through something that felt like a spider string, only much, much tougher. It was, in fact, a spider string but quite a bit thicker than any that I have felt. I followed the string up to the ceiling fan and this is what I found:

I pointed out this large spider when Art got home tonight and told him to kill it (spiders are my number one fear) and he refused (I swear he doesn't love me). He said that it will catch the flies and I told him I don't need it to catch flies because I have the ever-attractive-sticky-paper hanging from the fan. He then told me that it was just a barn spider and to not 'freak out' about it. I told him that I don't live in a barn and, yes, I will freak out about it. We compromised and Art captured in and put it outside.

Art cut about 17 acres of hay today so everyone pray that it doesnt rain for another four days! It looks like the weather could go either way at this point...

No, No! It's a 'Sport Bike'!

Art brought home his new toy from Minnesota yesterday afternoon- a Suzuki TL1000R motorcycle- it's a crotch rocket (Art argues that it's a 'sport bike'...) He's wanted one ever since I have known him and when he found it on Craig's List he jumped at it. When I disagreed, citing the fact that he already has three motorcycles, he "put his foot down". That doesn't happen very often so I knew he must really, really want this bike.

This is what I call the "Redneck Ramp":

Jack of All Trades

I went to a friends' home last night and hung a door for them (they just had a baby and don't have a lot of extra time on their hands for such projects) I was pretty confident that I knew what I was doing, having had a verbal lesson from Art (the Jack of All Trades). It was going pretty well; I had carved out the new hinge places and had the door hung when I realized that the door, being a little thicker than the door jam, didn't close very well. I panicked a little and multiple swear words were issued (by yours truly) but it was decided that the door trim could either be moved out a little or could be left as is and let the closing of the door slowly wear it down. I opt for the wearing down, but that'll be their decision. This is why you go to a hardware store with the exact measurements of your door instead of picking one up willy-nilly on consignment. They had another door for me to hang, but it was going to be way too thick so I vetoed that idea.
They did feed me well and I truly believe that a good meal is payment enough!

Just Call Me 'Sling Blade'

I learned how to take off, clean, and re-install a carburetor last night. This is a skill I never knew I needed (and, to be honest, I'm not sure I could do it again) Art was fixing a mechanical trowel for a friend and I was his assistant. I think maybe the carb-cleaner vapors got to us as we were attempting our best Karl Childers impression while we worked.

"I was fixin’ to kill you with this lawnmower blade."