It has been a few days since I last posted anything on here…life has been a whirlwind lately.

We got through the 4th of July and you read about the muzz shooting event and how successful that was.  A big thank you to all of you who came and supported that event.  As hot as it was, it was still a fun time and I believe everyone had a great time…I sure did.

The 5th of July started off with raking the hay for the second time and the baler moving in to bale what was ready.  We were expecting a buyer to come in later in the afternoon, but a call from them had them delaying until Saturday…not a good scene for us, as there was a 40% chance of rain coming and we didn’t want the hay to get wet.  The plan was then to move the hay into the barn.

Baler problems always seems to plaque us this time of year.  Humidity issues, rain and especially wind are always on our minds.  So, with all of these things “happening” the baling went well for a time and then not so well at other times.  Running for bolts and nuts, stopping for adjustments and finally things started to work as they should.

A quick call to the buyer from Idaho and they were on their way to come and get the hay they ordered.

We had half their order on one of the trailers and were in the process of loading the second when the dreaded evening thunderstorm loomed in the West skies!  The sound of thunder could be heard in the distance above the roar of the tractor and the baler.  The baler was pounding out bales as fast as it could and we were busy loading them on the trailer as they fell out.

Suddenly a huge micro-burst of wind came whipping through the field scattering hay as it went.  The baler kept on baling through it all but the buyers called an end to loading and a cry to “square it off and tie it down” came bellowing through the howling wind.

The baler kept on baling and the crew on the ground kept picking up the bales and heading them for the barn.  It’s really comforting to see a crew of people working so diligently on the annual project called “hay hauling”.  It’s not a fun job and it’s a sweat filled, hay chaff choking time with little or no rest when the work is being pounded out.

Saturday is usually the culmination of the hay hauling, with always a long line of hay buyers coming and going from the fields, empty wagons and trucks coming in, and full ones leaving.  As for me it is usually running from one buyers rig to another making sure of what they wanted as far as numbers of bales and picking up their payment on the way out.  This year we have not been so fortunate.

Most of the usual buyers of larger quantities of hay cancelled out because of the holiday weekend or they found closer hay for a little better price, which means we have to put more into the barn.  That is not a problem as far as selling the hay because it will be worth a lot more later in the season, when there is snow on the ground and people are unable to find hay.  But the problem is in the helping hands.  Saturday is a large crew day and after that the crew size diminishes drastically as people have to go back to work and the other activities they have planned.

Back to Saturday:  Early Saturday morning a rain storm came through and put down just enough rain (.04 inches) to cause us to have to delay raking and baling until after the noon hour.  Buyers were put on standby or they just flat out cancelled their order.  The baler moved in and pounded out hay as quickly as he could.  Standby buyers were called and they came as they could and picked up their hay and still the baler pounded out bales.  Suddenly, BLAMMMM!  A very ugly sound came echoing from the direction of the baler…down for the count!  Broken drive chain, busted pivot arm…all the parts stores are closed after 1 p.m….calls were made back to the standby buyers for another delay.

The wagon comes back out and the work crew picks up all the rest of the bales and takes them to the barn.  We are done for the day at 3 p.m.

At 5:30 p.m., we have Mulberry Park all fixed up with awnings and tables and chairs and Dee and her crew of helpers brings out the food!  30 pounds of perfectly roasted beef, 30 pounds of absolutely melt in your mouth pork roast, large pots of mashed potatoes and home made drippings gravy…salads of every sort, fruit, rolls, butter and all the drinks you can consume!  What a feast!  The crowd is large, as it should be, family, friends and all those who helped with the ditches, fences and haying diving into the feast with all they could.  I personally stuffed myself like I always do at Thanksgiving.  This culminates our year of farm work………usually.  Not so this year as we still have about half the crop still in windrows in the fields.

I say still in windrows, at least as much as the evening winds have left them in windrows.

Today is Monday, July 8, last night we once again had .04 inches of rain fall and are waiting for the ground and hay to dry before we can rake it up.  Donell is busy trying to make last minute fixes to his baler and plans on returning to the field about noon today.  Will today be any better than last Saturday?  That is anyone’s guess.  I have said a silent prayer that the hay gets done today, or at least by tomorrow.  We have one last buyer who has to make two trips to get the amount they need.  The weather for today calls for 30% chance of more rain this afternoon and then we have two full days of no predicted rain before the next storm is forecast to hit.  I’d like nothing better than to wake up in the morning with dry baled hay on the ground and could make a call to the buyer to come and get load number one and expect to pick up number two load on Wednesday.

This has got to be the longest running “working on the hay” since the days they stacked it loose on the wagon and drove the team of horses to the barn to unload it with the derrick fork.

Please God, there is more to life than sweating it out on the farm.

Bears Butt

July 8, 2013