Between Hurricanes

9/17/2018

Last week the remnants of a hurricane dumped 5 1/2 inches of rain on us.

We can't complain because we have been relatively dry this summer. It gave us a nice break to get some inside work done, but always in the back of our minds was how in the world we were going to get our second cutting of hay in.

September brings cooler weather, heavy dews and foggy mornings. Hay isn't impossible, but it becomes more difficult with each passing day.

The weather forecast was calling for hot and humid weather at the end of the week, so I told Daniel we had better keep an eye on the radar because this might be our last chance.
Tuesday night we still had puddles in the driveway from the weekend rain, but amazingly, the ground wasn't as soft as we expected.

Wednesday, Daniel made the call, left work early and cut hay. It was either going to be a great gamble or a horrible mistake.

We needed about 25 more round bales and 200 square bales.

We use the square bales for the show cows in the barn and to take to the shows. It is a pain to bale, but it is so much easier to handle in the barn.

This is all the hay we had left from last year, so we were getting a little nervous. Especially, since we are just pulling cows back into the barn for show season.

Friday night brought us a heavy dew and we woke Saturday to another morning of heavy fog. Would the hay ever dry?

We spent the morning making final preparations and getting all the equipment ready while the sun was doing its thing.

We are constantly fixing a tire on something!

The ground underneath was still a little wet, but the sun was out in full force. The hay was drying better than we had anticipated.

About 11:00, Isaac went out to ted the hay one more time. We just needed that little boost.

We ate lunch while the sun kept working it's magic.

About 1:00, Daniel headed out to start raking.

Walker rode along to learn the ropes.

And then Daniel turned him loose.

By 3:00 the hay was ready to go.

Isaac, Walker and I were doing square bales while Daniel headed out with the round baler.

We were a little pressed for time.

Not only does dew set in earlier this time of year, but Isaac and Walker were scheduled to unload hay for a neighbor at 5:30.

When Daniel was done with the round bales, I jumped off the wagon to go finish laundry while he jumped on the tractor to finish square bales with the boys.

It is super important that the towels are dry and the pajamas clean. I knew that as soon as we were done, everyone would hit the showers and then the couch to watch the Ohio State Football game. I knew if laundry wasn't done, I would be in HOT water!

Daniel used the blower to clean out the baler before putting it in the barn.

These two are hot and tired....

But they still have a lot to do.

Roger and Nick came over to help unload wagons.

Thank goodness!

Walker threw on a little salt just for good measure. When there is a chance that some of the hay might be a little wet, the salt draws the moisture out.

It is better to be safe than sorry.

As soon as the last bale was stacked, the boys grabbed a bottle of water and ran to the neighbors to unload another round of hay.

Hay is hard work!

But, a shower, a good football game and some pain relievers make you forget a lot of things.

The remnants of Florence are supposed to hit Ohio today. We are actually welcoming the rain. We will move the cows out to the hay field in a few days, and hopefully the grass grows enough to keep the cows out on pasture until December.

One hay field down and one more to go.

This is Us - our life, our story, our farm