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Keeping in Touch:  Keeping In Touch- Making Hay  |
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Calicogirl
True Blue Farmgirl
5216 Posts
Sharon
Bruce Crossing
Michigan
USA
5216 Posts |
 Posted - May 08 2009 : 12:54:06 PM
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I like to use Spearmint rather than Peppermint. I think the Peppermint ends up being very strong in flavor.
Alee,
It won't be long before that "little" plant is a big one :)
~Sharon
By His Grace, For His Glory
http://merryheartjournal.blogspot.com/ |
Edited by - Calicogirl on May 08 2009 12:56:41 PM |
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Julia
True Blue Farmgirl
1949 Posts
Julia
Shelton
WA
USA
1949 Posts |
Posted - May 08 2009 : 1:23:45 PM
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Yum! The Meadow tea sounds good. I think I would like to try it with Lemon Balm.
For tomorrow and its needs I do not pray, but keep me, guide me, love me, Lord just for today.
St. Augustine
#440 |
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simone947
Farmgirl in Training
34 Posts
sarah
peru
NY
34 Posts |
Posted - May 10 2009 : 7:16:23 PM
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| making hay reminds me of hot afternoons in the hay loft, stacking and stacking and stacking and my skin breaking out into blotches, but listening to cows chew on the hay afterwards is worth all of those long afternoons. getting hay is one of my favorite things in the world now, we usually go after work to a nearby farmer who mills his own grain and sells roundbales, it usually turns into hours of talking and visiting with everyone else stopping by. it reminds me of how connected our community is. |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22937 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22937 Posts |
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sherone_13
True Blue Farmgirl
2460 Posts
Sherone
Evanston
WY
USA
2460 Posts |
Posted - May 13 2009 : 10:35:39 AM
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Farm life is an art that has been developed through millions of years. Interesting comparison can be made from the techniques of "old" to the high tech techniques of today.
We have used some of the "old" techniques during haying season on our ranch. One of my most fond memories are of driving the old rusty Ford tractor with a push rake on front. I would drive around the field, gathering the fresh bales and push them to the hay wagon, where our men folk would load the wagon. They used the "bucking" method to push the bales up on the high wooden wagon. This includes grasping the tie wires on the top of the bales, picking it up and using the knee to push the 40- 50 lbs bale onto the wagon. There was always another family member waiting to accept the bale. That man would lift the bale up to the stacker who was located on the top of the stack.
We used to ride on top of the stack on the way to the stack yard. The process of unloading the wagon would begin, by a brave soul venturing to the edge of the stack and throwing down the first bale to the tractor driver. He would begin the stack and continue until we had created an adequate "staircase" of hay for all of us to get off the wagon. Sometimes, the young men would just jump off the stack. A lady, however, would wait for the staircase to appear.
Our ranch is located in southwest Wyoming. Due to climate, we can get only two crops of hay. The second crop hay is always dusty and needed to be raked more than the first crop. Many hours have been spent driving the same old tractor pulling a traditional rake behind. The grasshoppers would jump out of the way when they heard the rattle of the tractor. Mosquitoes often swarmed on our unprotected arms and necks. The hot summer sun beat down on our backs for hours at a time. Haying is hard work.
One of the bright moments of the day was seeing the family matriarch, Lila, walking through the field with a big jug of ice water. She would come twice a day to refill our jugs. Every summer, she would pull her camp trailer over to the hay fields. We looked forward to the amazing lunches and dinners that were served daily out of that trailer. Farm women certainly know how to feed a hungry hay crew.
As we have gotten older and some of the younger family members have taken over the running of the ranch, we have gotten more modern in our techniques. We now have a swather that cuts the hay and arranges it into a nice wind row. We let the wind rows dry for a few days. The next step is baling, which is accomplished by pulling a baler behind a new John Deere tractor. The final step is to pick up those bales with a modern stacker, which loads the bales onto a wagon of sorts. Hydralics are used to move the bales off the wagon into the stack yard. Often times, we need to use 2x4's to prop up the stacks or use a fence to support it.
Our little ranch has evolved with the times as the world around us evolved. The hay stack staircases are gone as is the old push rake and rake. Family members have gone to greener pastures above and machines do our work for us now. When I get lost in my memories of the good old days, I must simply bring myself to the present and be happy for the future. We are still a family owned ranch and even though the old ways are gone, the traditions are still alive and well in our children.
Sherone
http://tinytaylorranch.blujay.com
http://tinytaylorranch.ecrater.com/
http://taylorscountrystore.blogspot.com/
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paintnpencils
Farmgirl in Training
31 Posts
jessica
glen rock
pa
USA
31 Posts |
Posted - Jun 08 2009 : 7:58:37 PM
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I have a love hate relationship with hay, I love it and love having the barn full of it, I love the smell, but I hate looking up at that first 150 bales piled high on the wagon, knowing I don't have much time to stack it as my mother throws the bales down because another wagon is comming in soon. Once I get that first wagon done I am warmed up so to speak and ready for the challenge. I even as a kid got the stacking job. My family has always farmed hay, if we ever had a field of corn, oats or wheat it was because my father had a neighbor rotate the field for us. The first farm we had was like a big round hill with one side very steep, well we only had a couple of wagons at the time and the old kicker baler we had could only get ther bales up to the front of the wagon so I had to ride in the back while my dad was baling and carry the bales to the back of the wagon and stack them. This was sometimes tricky on a hill as the bales would tumble about if I din't stack them right, especially when my dad was making a turn and all the while I had to watch I didn't get hit with a flying bale! I would not recomend anyone do this, but being young I thought it great fun, and I felt like such a farmer. :) The farm we have now is more flat, and the baler we have is so much nicer my dad can almost stack the wagon with it, but there are still times I wonder what am I doing! like the year before last when the kicker lever broke and I had to walk along for that entire field and manually trip the kick lever! This is also something that I would never suggest, but when the rain is comming and you can't take the time to fix the part right you make do with what you've got.
Jessica
each day is a new oportunity to create,improve, expand, and share. |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22937 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22937 Posts |
Posted - Jun 08 2009 : 9:01:27 PM
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| Wow Jessica! You must have great arm and back muscles! I have a similar love/hate relationship with hay but mostly because haying makes me feel weak! Those bales sure can be heavy and it doesn't help that I am short short short! LOL |
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paintnpencils
Farmgirl in Training
31 Posts
jessica
glen rock
pa
USA
31 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2009 : 3:25:20 PM
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Yes by the end of hay season I feel pretty buff! I too am short at 5"3 I can only stack the bales 4 high before I have to use them as steps to throw up the next layer! At the end of the evening I have hay everywhere even filling my bra! but I refuse to wear a turtle neck to keep the hay out because of the heat so I just deal with it and pick hay out of my bra and hair! It does smell wonderful though!
each day is a new oportunity to create,improve, expand, and share. |
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paintnpencils
Farmgirl in Training
31 Posts
jessica
glen rock
pa
USA
31 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2009 : 5:45:52 PM
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Tonight we had to rebale some of last years hay, we were pulling hay off the stack and almost all the bales had one string broken and some had both broken. My mother sister and I pulled the broken bales out with pitchforks and loaded up a tarp. Once the tarp was full we pulled it up to the front of the barn where my dad had the tractor, bailer and wagon parked. This is where he fed the hay into the baler with a hay fork. During this process I discovered 4 kittens that had to be moved so I enlisted help from my 5 year old daughter to kitten wrangle. She loved it and made a few furry friends. We made it through half the stack of hay tonight and will finish the other half tomarrow. All this to sell it for $1.50 a bale! Just a Safety note: Remember to always keep your hands and loose clothing away from moving machinery parts!
each day is a new oportunity to create,improve, expand, and share. |
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22937 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22937 Posts |
Posted - Jun 12 2009 : 9:34:24 PM
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Wow Jessica- I hadn't ever thought of re-baling hay before. Do you check to make sure none of it is moldy before you do that or do you sell it as "not horse quality" at that point?
I sure love the bales of hay with the nice long grasses in it. I get grumpy when I cut open a bale and there are lots of short bits in it. They always seem to fall into my bra and down my pants! LOL I can have my shirt tucked in and everything and I will still have pokey hay bits in my undies! LOL
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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paintnpencils
Farmgirl in Training
31 Posts
jessica
glen rock
pa
USA
31 Posts |
Posted - Jun 13 2009 : 8:13:04 PM
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yeah we do look over the hay and smell it before we rebale it, but sometimes my dad is so hard headed about "saving good hay" last year we had some really nice timothy alfalfa mix hay that we had to take in a bit wet, it really needed another day or two to dry out, but we were going to get some bad rain so instead of losing the hay we baled it and then waited a day for clear weather and then my dad had us break open and spread out the hay in the field to dry again! We "processed" about 150-200 bales like this. I can tell you I was not in a good mood but I knew it would be kept back for my horses, so the extra work would pay off. We did get the hay in nice and dry and I fed it all winter. The horses were able to maintain their weight without grain suppliment, because the hay was of such good quality.
each day is a new oportunity to create,improve, expand, and share. |
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paintnpencils
Farmgirl in Training
31 Posts
jessica
glen rock
pa
USA
31 Posts |
Posted - Jun 22 2009 : 3:57:32 PM
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My mom is out of town so it will be just my dad and I to take in the next field, I just hope that it will all fit in the wagons so we don't have to unload it right away!
each day is a new oportunity to create,improve, expand, and share. |
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Keeping in Touch: Keeping In Touch- Making Hay |
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Keeping In Touch- Making Hay
