Picture of the day - July 13, 2008

"First hay crop"

Photo by Rick Rouse. This year Cheria and I decided to let our long field grow up in hay, and a couple of days ago our neighbor mowed, raked and baled it for us. Our very first hay crop yielded a grand total of two rolls of hay! Meager as that might be, it was actually a little more than I expected since the small field is less than an acre in size. It turns out that a single roll of hay contains the equivalent of approximately 18 of the smaller rectangular bales that I remember sweating over on so many hot summer days when I was growing up in Widener Valley, Virginia. We used to have to pick up those hay bales one by one and stack them onto a farm wagon, then after a short trip to the barn we would stack the precious bales up in the loft where they would remain until it was time to feed the cattle during the winter. I hated the job of "puttin' up hay" with a passion, not only because of the extreme heat we had to endure while we were doing it, but it really put my "grass allergy" into high gear. Nowadays things are a lot better. Now that the bales are round, the farmer can pick them up with a long spike fastened to the front and/or the back of the tractor and haul them anywhere he wishes. I guess you could say it's a new way of doing an old job. While I certainly don't miss "puttin' up hay" the old fashioned way, I still enjoyed seeing those two rolls of hay sitting side-by-side in our field. And who knows, if we get enough rain this summer we just might get to harvest a 2nd crop!     Visitor Comments... Name: Ron Trees Town: Spokane, WA Hi Rick, While I did not live on a farm, I did get roped into helping bring in the hay a couple of times. Man, that was some hard work and it usually seemed to have to be done on the hottest day of the summer. Thanks for the memories, I think:). Take care, Ron   Click here to comment on this picture.   Visit the POTD Archives for previous "Pictures Of The Day"!     Submit a photo of your own!                                 Place the "Picture of the Day" on your website, for free! Why I publish the "Picture of the Day"