Friday, June 9

Daily Farm Photo: 6/9/06


Cary At The Start Of Hay Pick Up Day #1

Well there's hay in the barn--maybe 1/3 of what we'll need for next winter. The good news is that it looks a lot better than what we were expecting. The bad news is that it's already steaming hot outside, there are still 100 or so bales on the trailer (since we weren't up to unloading them at 10:00 last night), and there is rain in the forecast starting tomorrow night.

So the whole cycle has already begun again: the baler is off the tractor, the mower is on it, and Joe is out cutting even more hay than he did the first time. Meanwhile Cary and I will make another run to town to fill the gas cans and buy more baling twine, and later (when it's even hotter), we'll get last night's bales off the trailer. They are fine, as we covered them for the night with the dandy new high dollar tarp that is supposed to be shading my greenhouse. And tomorrow will be Hay Pick Up Day #2.


Cary
is doing great and was a real trooper yesterday. More about her hopefully soon. (Yes, I've been taking tons of pictures.) She now weighs 19 pounds! (And I thought I was the only one who could gain five pounds in a week.)

P.S. Cary wasn't the only sweet little thing in the hayfield yesterday. At one point, an adorable spotted fawn bounced right past us, and I also enjoyed a seasonal treat. Click here to feast your eyes.

14 comments:

  1. Cary looks adorable in that photo.

    I'm glad the hay chore is pretty much wrapped up (for the moment anyway). Sounds like a lot of labor and in hot conditions. Not exactly fun, but it certainly pays dividends come winter. That must be a good feeling. Similar to canning in August, I suspect.

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  2. I just love the photo of Cary.

    I am also glad the hay chore is almost over for you. I have done that once or twice in my life, and know it is not fun.

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  3. How many cuts of hay do you get in a year? Do you have to repeat this in high Summer?

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  4. Cary looks so tiny standing in the middle of that big hayfield!

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  5. responding to pricey tarps. i'm not sure how far you are from us but i have a line on thick vinyl reinforced canvas. it is used for bill boards and printed on one side. i just partially unfurled it and made a temporary slip-n-slide for the kids. it is too heavy to ship--mine weighs 100+ pounds. i plan to use it for a buried water shed barrier above our root cellar, temporary roofing for our milking barn and will still have a big hay tarp for nimue's round bales. i know i can get at least one more. i paid $20 for it.

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  6. What a great pic of Cary Susan!

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  7. Hi Jade,
    Well, I wouldn't exactly call the haying wrapped up yet, but some hay in the barn is better than no hay in the barn. Tomorrow is going to be the BIG day. Temps in the 90s. Good for the hay. Not so good for wilting hayers.

    Yes, similar to canning in August, only we don't get to eat our efforts!

    Hi Candy,
    Yeah, haying is pretty much at the bottom of my farm jobs list. Seriously, I'd rather muck out the barn. It would be different if we could put up the hay in winter, but of course that makes no sense. But it gave me something to think about today while we were unloading those 100 bales in the heat. : )

    Hi Steven,
    We usually cut hay just once a year, sometime in June or early July. Our hayfield is capable of producing over 1500 square bales of hay, but due to unfavorable weather conditions, it hasn't done that in at least 10 years. The first year I moved here (2000) we baled up ZERO bales of hay. It was pitiful.

    Last year our first cutting was so dry and poor and way too small that I was having to think about selling most of the flock. Then we had surprise rains in August, and we (along with many other farmers) did a late summer cutting and got enough decent hay to keep us through the winter.

    We're hoping to another late cutting this year on the part we don't have a chance to cut right now.

    Hi IGO,
    Yes she does! : )

    Hi Karl,
    Dibs on that tarp! It sounds fabulous. I can already think of about 90 things I could do with it (and the slip-n-slide is definitely one of them). We should be able to somehow figure out how to get it from there to here. I'm also going to leave a comment on your blog and look for your email, but I wanted to let you know I'm very interested. Thank you so much. I knew there was a reason I mentioned that new tarp today!

    Hi Joe,
    Thank you!

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  8. that is the MOST adorable photo ever.

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  9. Ok, so when do we get to see a picture of Cary getting into the truck for a trip to town with you? That's got to be one sweet sight!

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  10. This picture with the cute Cary is absolutely dreamlike!

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  11. I recently found your blog and I'm so glad I did! You are living my dream . . . I'm a SoCal suburbs girl that longs to be a farm girl.

    I love this picture of Cary . . . your posts made me smile during a difficult week. We had to put our 15-year-old cat to sleep this week, so it was nice to come here and put my mind on something else for a while.

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  12. Hi Vicki,
    Thanks!

    Hi Pat,
    Well I do have some photos of Cary in the car that I haven't put up yet, but I hope you saw the one of her in the hay truck (click here. : )

    Hi Rosa,
    All of life with Cary is sort of like a dream, LOL.

    Hi Shari,
    Welcome to the farm! I'm really sorry to hear about your cat. I definitely know how much it hurts to lose a longtime furry family member. I'm so glad that we made you smile.

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  13. What a beautiful picture! It's breathtaking!

    That's worthy of making a wallpaper for a PC desktop, really! I might do that, if that's okay. Goodness, but that's beautiful.

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  14. @ Steven I live In eastexas I get any where from 3 to 4 cuts ayear off my pastures

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