It speaks for itself…she says…Grab Your stuff….we’re headed for bed~

I’m back!

With a concerted effort on all parties, the hay is finally in the barn for this season.  Yesterday was a roller coaster ride all by itself.  We started off with a brief rain that didn’t even register on the rain gauge, but a guy Tracker works with said he had to turn on his windshield wipers coming through town.

Next was the late start by everyone except Bones…I had a doctor appointment with Sherry, Wapiti had one with Marla, Rick with Diane and Duck with Carol…are we all getting old or what?

The plan was to hit the field about 11:30 and start picking up bales.  We figured Landon would have all the baling done over North by the time we got down to the field.  I entered from the North and Landon was no where to be seen.  I called him and he said the hay was too wet and that he had walked home to wait until it was dry enough and besides he had some sprinkler pipes to move.

So, we hauled what we could to the barn…the day got hotter…finally Landon showed up about 3 p.m. and pounded out the rest of the hay over north.  We moved in as he baled and picked up the hay and took it to the barn.  More help trickled in and it was very welcome help, as we were getting quite worn out…we are old you know…the youngest of us is 62 and the oldest 73!  That’s saying something for us oldies but goodies.

Our last hay buyer came in about 6:30 and picked up 160 bales.  By the time the load was heading out, I looked at my shirt and I was soaked, my gloves were almost dripping wet with sweat and my levies were soaked down to the crotch…was it hot enough?

On the up side, we only had two more loads of hay to put into the barn and then the job was done!  We were all feeling a second wind and got the two loads in quite quickly!  Good job to all!

Bones and Tracker had to get home and get to bed by the time we were done.  Tracker had to get up at 2 a.m. to go to work and so they didn’t get the chance to sit down and enjoy a celebration beer with salt.  Those of us who stayed for a beer enjoyed it fully.  After the 3rd one, the slight breeze that was blowing around us had me feeling very cold.  The breeze was blowing through my wet clothes and made me feel like a swamp cooler.  We all packed it up and left about an hour after Bones and Tracker left.

Thanks to everyone who showed up to help with this hot and very tiring task.  It’s done for 2013, now to try and salvage what suffered during these last two weeks…lawn watering, park cleanup, house cleaning and repairs, bills etc.

It seems that this time of year really taxes each of us but when it’s done it is a welcome task to have behind us.  Maybe we need to think of another way to make a couple of dollars on that property.

Bears Butt

July 9, 2013

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

It’s early on the 5th of July and it rained .04 inches during the early morning hours.  Usually a welcome rain but this time it’s not…we have our hay down and the baler is due to come in this morning.  The rain is going to put a delay on things.

But, yesterday was a pretty good day!  The usual parade with the mountain men in it was a fun deal!  Fat Duck and Conner at the helm, Wapiti at his usual best manners, Weasel and Dry Dog in the back of the trailer (float) and me trying to keep things orderly..I went through almost a full powder horn of powder and nearly a full round of crape paper (bullets).  The crowd seemed to be pleased with it all…don’t forget at the next election to write in Wapiti Dung for Sheriff of Box Elder County, and keep in mind as well that he says he will do away with the prison, give each deputy a muzz shotgun and a horse to ride.  If elected we have to hold him to those promises.

I wish I would have taken a moment to take a picture of the shoot up at the gravel pit!  The crowd was the largest to date!  With a total of 67 people on site, 42 shooters and everyone seeming to be having a good time in spite of the heat!  It had to be close to 110 degrees up there.  The fire department even sent up two cases of water for us to drink and quite a bit of it did get consumed.  All the spectators and shooters came well equipped with liquid refreshments and I was glad.

The shoot was a fun one.  We had 42 shooters including I think 8 from the Brigham City Bowmen group.  Talk about an impressing group of bow shooters!  They won quite a few of the prizes this year!  I think the muzz shooters need to get their game a bit more fine tuned!  Just sayin!

As usual I had a line up of shoots that surprised some people.  One of those was a Johnny Two hole shoot which required two shooters to pair up.  The paper is sectioned off into 4 equal quadrants and each of the two shooters shoots at two of the quadrants.  Now the paper should have 4 holes in it, one in each of the quadrants.  The partner is now required to hit his partners holes with his next two shots.

We had a team that shot the target and had two of the quadrants with touching shots, one quadrant with a space of less than an inch and the 4th quadrant where the holes were about 3 inches apart.  Compared with all the other shooters targets this one was clearly the winning target.  BUT, the envelope was pulled out and the wording read that the “worst target” would be the winner.  DANG!  Am I bad or what?

The second best target was a shoot at lolly pops.  These lolly pops had a looped string for the handle.  The shoot was to put your shot inside the loop without hitting the string….Two of the bowmen put their arrow exactly inside the loop.  I had 4 prizes and had to choose two of the muzz shooters who hit their strings for 3rd and 4th!  I’ll tell you, those bowmen can flat out shoot those sticks!

In my shoots you never know how the wind is going to blow, but we try to make it fun for everyone and try to make sure everyone wins.  The Brigham Bowmen gave us some shirts and hats and we gave them away as fairly as we could.

The prizes we had for each of the shoots were donated from the Willard City Volunteer Fire Department, Kendall Chambers, Cover Up Embroidery, Larry’s Service, of course the Brigham Bowmen and a very fine scrimshaw moose bone necklace from Garth Barker.  Garth has learned the art of scrimshaw and is really showing his talent in a big way!  Thank you all for the donations, without those I could only give out money as prizes and that isn’t as much fun.

Speaking of money I have $400 to give to the Willard City Volunteer Fire Department, thanks to all of those shooters who came to play!

A hearty THANK YOU to Arnell Wells and Granite Construction for letting us play in the gravel pit!

THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING TO THE SHOOT!!!!

Bears Butt

July 5, 2013

Taking a break from all the activities of the day, so far…and add to that more record breaking heat!  I feel like my skin is nothing but dried salt and I can’t get enough water to satisfy my thirst.  Even dill pickles are having a time keeping me moving!  It’s been quite the day so far.

It’s 2:26 right now and cool next to the vent in the house where I’m sitting.  A nice spot to be, but soon I seem myself venturing out into the blazing heat to do the next two big tasks…picking up a porta potty from the city and lastly, setting up the range in the gravel pit!  Now that last task will be a hot sucker!

Bounce the already hot sunlight off a mile long west facing rock face and it’s like being in a home made sunlite oven…I’ll be sure and take lots of cold refreshments with me and I hope my helpers do the same.

The stage is already set for the mornings parade through town and then the muzzy shoot at 1 p.m.  There isn’t any sense having people shooting their rifles in a cool atmosphere.  Let’s pick the hottest time of the day and enjoy it to its fullest!

By the way, if you didn’t catch the show that was held last night by the city folks, you might want to scroll down to the next story and hear what Bears Butt had to say during his time on the stage!  Thanks Weasel for posting that up on here!

Bears Butt

July 3, 2013

104 degrees according to my computer temp weather site!  Is that hot enough for you?  I’m cookin!

A late posting today because of all the “excitement” going on around here.  We got half the hay raked this morning and the rest should get done in the morning.  This heat will dry it out really good and really fast…that’s good because the baler moves in on Friday morning.

An exceptional crop this year but I lost about 500 bales sold to people backing out for various reasons…oh well…into the barn it goes and when it does get sold it will be at a premium price.

For those buyers who are still coming, you will be very happy with this years bales!  Lots of timothy!  And of course the low price!

Tonight it’s the town talent show and I’m on the schedule as the intermission between the real talented people!  We will see how well it goes.

Tomorrow morning is raking the hay and hopefully finishing that job up.  Then helping Sherry if she needs some help with her 4th of July project…I think she has lots of helpers…and then putting up the range about 5 p.m.  In the evening it’s the Firemans dinner and dance after that.

We will take the agenda that far and see how it all plays out.  There truly is some meaning to the statement “Work Expands to fill the time allocated”!

Bears Butt

July 2, 2013

Overwhelmed!  That seems to be the feeling of the day.  It’s July 1st and the 4th is just around the corner.  Sherry and I are involved with the celebration here in this little town, she with her task and me with mine.  Usually I can free myself up to help her, but this year it is not the case.  Why?  Hay.

I vote not to cut and bale hay until after the 4th from here on forward, too much, too soon.

I have yet to look in the POS for range stuff and I hope there is enough cardboard to cover the range for the shoot on the 4th.  What if there isn’t enough?  I’ll be in big doo doo!  So put that on my to do list, I have to check things out and do it soon.

Today is “finish up the cutting” in the field, which includes the back swath.  Hook up the rake to the Massey in preparation for the raking that begins in the morning.  At 7:30 tonight I have my turn at the rehearsal for the talent show that happens tomorrow night at the church.  I have several phone calls to make to see if other people want hay…we have had some “back out” because they have their own celebrations to attend and vacations to be had and hay is not in their plans on the 4th of July (another reason to put off cutting and baling on the 4th).  There are some final details to work out for the shoot on the 4th and I still have not heard from the fire chief about prizes…hmmmm…am I pressured?  Is he pressured?  I can always give money as prizes so I’m not worried about that.  What about the parade?  On the evening of the 3rd I have to go to the gravel pit and set up the range…I have helpers for that, but what about the raking of the hay?  We are marching in the parade to advertise the shoot right?  Are we going to have a float?  What trailer?  We are going to use Wapitis 3 place for the porta potty that has to be picked up on the 3rd of July.  But won’t we still be raking the hay on that day?  And that is the night for the fireman’s dinner and dance right?  Parade at 9 a.m. on the 4th, then the races, bingo, display in the city hall (Sherry’s deal), grab some lunch at the concession stand…we have to support the firemen right?  Then at 1 p.m. it’s time for the shoot…gotta be there by noon to make sure the gate is open and things are ready!  Expecting over 50 shooters this year…this shoot is turning into a big deal and I’m really glad.  I’ve had calls from some of the “old timers” that say they will be there…way cool!

Then there is the situation with our own back yard party.  What about setting up the big awning…who is going to do that?  It covers not only the 4th of July party, but also the end of the hay season party on the 6th!  It all takes time and manpower.  And Donnell is moving in on the morning of the 5th to begin the baling!  Gotta be there to help with that…and finish the raking!  One more time to turn it over to make sure it’s cured enough to bale!  And we have to have at least 500 bales on the ground for Gary and Brenda to pick up on the afternoon of the 5th.  What about Hartline’s hay?  Will there be enough for him to pick up on Friday as well?  Can Donnell get it all baled on Friday so the other hay buyers can pick up on Saturday morning?  Who’s stressed?  Heck the barn isn’t even cleaned out yet alone the trailer checked to see if the tires are flat or not!

I sure like the 4th of July….usually….

Bears Butt

July 1, 2013