July 2, 2009

More Haymaking


Stage 2 of haymaking is the baling process. (Stage one is here. )
Our neighbors have a new baler than makes 750 pound rectangular bales. Only superman or the like would try to lift these babies.
Notice how the dad and 2 of his six boys are all crammed into the baler cab. They're having fun using the new machinery. The sky was turning dark as they made the rounds, and the wind kicked up some serious dust. The harvest was about 2 tons per acre. Not bad for amateurs. That's 8 tons for our 4 acres of hay meadow, enough to feed our guys through the winter months. The rest of the time, they'll do fine on pasture grass.
One of the neighbor boys (These kids are such good workers. I'm really impressed!) stacked it in our hay yard with a forklift device on the tractor.
The threatened rain didn't happen, but the clouds made for an unusual sunset.
To see beautiful skies from all over the world, click here.

25 comments:

  1. I never "hauled hay," but many of my friends did. I always like to see the goings on at farms. LOVE those unusual clouds in the last photo!

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  2. That is a lot of hay!! Great shots! Like Louise, I LOVE the marvelous clouds and colors in your last shot!
    Breathtaking!

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  3. Congratulations on the two tons of hay. How long will that last? Our llama eat less than two tons all winter, but I know those horses eat a lot more.

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  4. now that is a lot of hay. and i like all that fancy hay machinery...prett impressive!~

    have a wondeful weekend.

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  5. Wow! That last picture is just awesome!!

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  6. I love hearing about youngsters who like to work & have fun doing sooflat. Your scenes are delightful.

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  7. Great series of photos, I love seeing the hay bales in the fields. There is something so beautiful about them. That is quite a machine.

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  8. Nice sunset, and nice neighbors. I've bucked a few bales but nothing that big. Would take a forklift. How long will that feed the horses?

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  9. I've never seen a hay harvest in my life. Each time I passed by a hayfarm, they're already baled up!

    Great for the sky to hold the rain, so those sturdy guys can work without being dampened by the sulky weather.

    Thanks for leaving me comment in my Skywatch Friday last week while I was away.

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  10. Janie: I always like clouds when trying to capture the sk. These are a beautiful example of a neat sky.

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  11. How interesting this is...love all the pictures and the education too.
    Happy Weekend to you!

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  12. So interesting, Janie... I have had NO experience with any kind of farming---so this is wonderful for me to learn. Thanks so much for posting it.

    Have a great 4th.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  13. This time last week I was at my Aunt and Uncle's farm in Eastern Oregon. My uncle was up all night bailing hay. He prefers to do it then for some reason he explained and I forgot.

    As a girl, I often rode the bailer, combine, tractor or swather with my Grandpa. I love seeing my kids climb all over Grandpa's now derelict tractor at the farm. To them it's just old junk but to me it's watching my kids unknowingly reenact scenes from my own childhood.

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  14. Janie, what a great feeling to be self sustaining...good on you. Your photos are great but that final one is simply stunning. Thanks for sharing your part of the world with us.
    Smiles

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  15. Enjoyed the hay making process...sunset shot is beautiful!

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  16. Not only did you capture different and fabulous skies but also beutiful landscape. Thanks for visiting and leaving a nice comments Janie. You are sweet.

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  17. Nice clear skies. Great shots.

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  18. Wow, what beautiful skies! enJOY your holiday weekend!

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  19. Ahhh the every changing canvas of Mother Natures sky! Nice! :)

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  20. That's a lot of hay and I'm sure a lot of work.

    Beautiful skies, I love the last shot.

    SQ

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  21. I sure am glad the bales didn't weigh 750 pounds when I helped bale hay as a youth. They were heavy enough as it was. I like your sky picture.

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  22. That last shot is a bit of heaven!

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  23. Great pictures. Down here in OK mainly I see the big round bales. When I was a kid my brother and I would help with the baling at my Uncle's ranch in Idaho. Hard work!!

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  24. the third and fourth ones almost don't look real. lovely skies.

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