Trauma on the farm

Yesterday Gramma and I took a load of hay to the Farmer Daughter. We had three bales in the horse trailer. When we started to unload those bales we discovered that Sparkle Kitty had climbed in the trailer before we left home.

She was a bit traumatized from the trip. So the FD got a kitty crate and we put Sparkle in there for the ride back home. We set her on the ground in the shade of the truck. It was hot. Well, Grampa forgot she was there and moved the truck and trailer. The trailer axel rolled over the crate and popped it open and the cat was gone. We searched and called and got Reba out to look for Sparkle, but we couldn't find her.  We knew she was scared, but we didn't know if she was hurt. Gramma and I went home sad and worried. I thought I might never see my kitty again. Now everyone knows I don't like cats, but this was Sparkle Kitty. Well the FD kept looking and about 8:30 last night she called to say she found Sparkle and she was fine. Grampa cried. Gramma cried. So today I'll drive over and get her. Darn cats. No wonder I don't like them.

The other fun thing was what Mick did at the FD's. A lot of the pigs are loose over there so there is a lot of piggy poo around. He thought it would be fun to roll in the fresh stuff and grind it into his hair and skin. So he became a lot browner than he used to be. We had Heidi's crate with us so he rode home in that. When we got home Gramma gave him a bath in the garage sink. Then Grampa gave him a bath in the garage sink. Then Grampa took him into the shower and gave him another bath. Then Grampa took him back into the shower and gave him a 4th bath. Now he smells better, finally. Yikes what a day.

Hay Done

Hay is done. Well except for getting the extra over to the Farmer Daughters.

This is how I get the hay to the shed. Last year I did it with the tractor one bale at a time. Next year I plan to make a hay wagon and should be able to move 10 or 12 bales at a time.

Here is the hay in the hay shed.

From the front.

Here's the load we're taking to the Farmer Daughters tomorrow. We also have some bales in the horse trailer and Gramma is going to pull that with her car. I was able to get 43 bales in the hay shed which is more than we should need for Aksel and Ingrid. I also put 26 in the big shed. So I need to get all the extra hay over to the FD's so I can have my shed back. Next year I'll get a couple of hay tarps to cover the extra cause I'm not putting hay in my shed anymore. Ever. I need to go fishing.

Baling Hay

This is the baler. It's old . Not as old as the haybine or the hayrake or the farmer, but old. The haybine and the rake are from the early 60's and the baler is from the early 70's and the farmer is from, well, earlier than that.

So you drive over the windrows you made with the rake and the hay goes in the front end and.......

comes out the back end as a bale.

Baled the West and South fields yesterday and did the East field today. Had some problems with the baler, but we got it done. Now we just have to get the hay in the shed and some to the Farmer Daughters. Last year we got 60 bales. This year we got 75. 8 from the new field, so we added 7 bales from what we got last year on the two fields. Guess we'll cut later next year too. I think I need to go to the lake.

Well I started to rake today. Raked everything I cut on Sunday.

This is the hay rake. It's old like the haybine and the farmer,but works pretty good. The farmer down the road has a rake that he can raise and lower with hydraulics instead of by hand and is equal to eight rakes like ours.

Before raking.

After raking.

Hopefully I can finish all the raking tomorrow. It will depend on how warm it gets and whether we get any wind. If I can rake tomorrow I can start baling on Thursday and finish on Friday. It's supposed to get into the 80's for the rest of the week and that will help along with no rain. Cross you fingers.

Started cutting hay this afternoon. Started on the new hayfield. The hay was tall and thick. The haybine and the farmer were old. Had to stop and unclog the haybine a few times and I had to cut one gear slower than I usually do because it was so thick. The hay from this field will go to The Farmer Daughter cause it still has alfalfa in it which is too rich for the Fjords.

I got both small fields cut this afternoon and a start on the big field. As soon as the dew dries tomorrow I'll get back on the big field. Should be a good yield as it's so late. I'll update again when I rake and when I bale. I just know you'all are so excited.

TV Antenna or Satellite

Gramma and I have been talking about getting rid of the satellite dish and just getting an antenna. Almost everything we watch on tv is local channels anyway and it's very expensive for the dish. So this weekend we bought a small flat screen tv, an antenna with a pre-amp and some pipe to mount it on.

The antenna is huge. We just thought we would try this to see if it would work. Didn't know if the antenna would be high enough, didn't know if we were too far North. Well I put it up and pointed it at where I thought the cities would be and went in the house and hooked it up. Didn't work. Bummer. Then Gramma played with the remote and found we were on the wrong input mode (Yay Gramma) and it worked. We were amazed. It comes in better than the satellite I think. We were prepared for disappointment. We are happy. So one more month of Direct TV and then we'll get a tv for the living room. Lots of stuff to watch online for free, just need a usb cable and you're in business.

Hay Time

Putting up hay is an iffy thing. For it to go well you need warm and dry weather, and a little wind helps. Now I said "a little wind" not a lot because that causes it's own problems.

As you can see the hay is as tall as Ingrid.

It's taller than the deer. (That's the hay behind them)This the latest I've ever cut hay. We had good haying weather when the Bayou Family was here, but we were a little busy. After they left for home it started to rain and it's been raining ever since. AccuWeather says starting Sunday we should get a week of no rain. That's about what I need to get the hay done. Now, with the hay this tall I should get more volume but less nutrients. But since the Fjords can get fat just looking at hay, we should be ok. This will give us a little more to give to the Farmer Daughter so she can save a few bucks. So please pray for a week of no rain for us.Thank you.