The First Cut.
The grass hay is down. All of it. Gulp. I saw a window of warm breezes in the weather pattern, with low humidity, so I took a risk and had my hay man mow the first cut of the grass hay. We have even more cows this year, and I do not feed them grain, so we need lots and lots of good hay for the long winter to come. About a ton per cow per winter – that is two thousand pounds each.
So my girls and I will hopefully be putting up hay next week. The first cut. If the rain stays away.
(I know this blog is supposed to be about the farm and the animals but my girls look so good and happy in this shot they have allowed me to share it with you.) Obviously this smiling shot was taken before I told them just how much hay we will be slinging about the barn.
I grow two types of hay. The alfalfa hay and the grass hay. The alfalfa is still standing (it needs longer to dry) but the grass is on the floor.
When the mower turns a corner, it leaves a heavy pile of wet green grass, so the girls and I were out spreading it to help it all dry evenly. This is one of my favourite hay making jobs. There is never so much hay that I cannot get out into the field and personally get involved in the process, with my feet on the ground and a fork in my hand. And I have a good amount of grass on the ground. Luckily my hay man has worked with me long enough not to try and out talk the lady farmer. So down it all went.
And even though we had a slight chance of rain yesterday it stayed dry for me. I will rake it on Sunday and we will pick it up Monday then the girls and I will slowly stack it up in the barns.
I have been watching Aunty Del and I think there is a slight chance that maybe, if all goes well, quite possibly she might be pregnant. Don’t quote me though. I would bring the lady vet out to palpate and tell us for sure but it is such a long way for her to come, it seems an unfair request and it won’t change the outcome: we will all know for sure in a few weeks anyway. She is due on July 10th so we should see conclusive signs soon.
Naomi is such a beautiful animal.
And now she has her own herd.
I hope you have a lovely day. Fingers crossed now – no rain wanted here for the next few days!
Love celi
45 Comments on “The First Cut.”
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thekitchensgarden 
I saw a Rick Stein show in Iceland yesterday. It gets so cold that even the sheep sleep in a barn full of hay and cuddle up underneath it just like pigs!
Make hay while the sun shines 🙂
Fingers and toes duly crossed! I love your silver wooden fence. I think fences like that are so much nicer than off the shelf mass produced fences, well anything really is better not mass produced ☺️
I wish you light winds, and breezy days, and no rain till it’s all up and baled. Your Farmy is full of healthy young creatures, and that includes your laughing girls. Happy Sunday.
Thank you darling – happy sunday
Your weather looks good through Monday south of Chi town. Make hay while the sun shines.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lon=-87.72117304259879&lat=41.049032511125375#.V0BIspMrLdQ
Yes. We are due to bale Monday – so as long as nothing unexpected comes along we should be ok. Maybe. Fingers crossed.
Fingers crossed for no rain! Grass cutting and hay drying is a stressful chore, but once it is cut it is out of your hands. It is the Victoria Day long weekend in Canada so I want no rain here either.
You are right about that!! Out of our hands! c
We are about to have our grass hay cut next week. I love the look of the big round bundles on the fields afterwards although it does make my allergies play up.
Just love the pics of ‘your girls’! They are absolutely precious! And they have a very busy three days in front of them! 🙂
Look at that red hair!!! We have redheads in the fambly. Let me know when they’re coming to France 😉
I will tell them! c
The girls are cute! Are they there for the whole summer? What a great experience they must be having, one they will never forget.
Fingers crossed, no rain until next week. Sun, Sun, Sun!
Robin
They are here two more weeks – I have not counted but we have a lot of visitors this summer! c
Nothing like happy girls that love to work. What a cheery post. I’ll try to keep the rain here a day or two longer. I saw what is coming behind it and it isn’t good. Above normal heat!! 😦 I’ll keep the rain, thank you very much. Have a wonderful weekend. 🙂
wet heat is so much harder .. c
Woke up early today but the rain sounded so good, I just laid there listening. So relaxing. I know my weather is about 2 days following yours, so I can look forward to clearing skies tomorrow! And hopefully for you, the entire week!
It’s amazing how fast the grass grows. Here in the prairies its lush and green, while a couple of weeks ago my sandy brown dog, blended in beautifully. The season is short, so no wasting time for Mother Nature. Good luck with your hay making venture!
Wow Ms C. My one sweet Jersey girl eats a ton of grass/ alfalfa hay each month of winter. We went through 8 tons of hay this last year for just her alone.
Your cow ate 16 THOUSAND pounds of hay in a winter? My god! Is my maths wrong? How long is your winter? were these small bales? mine get just over half a bale a day – a bale is about 50+ pounds so they get about 30 pounds a day.. And the small bales cost 4.50 each here – luckily I make most of my own. But they are not allowed to waste a leaf. Your cow is in hay heaven living with you. Wonderful. c
Yup. Our bales are small so I can handle them without help, anywhere from #55- 75 depending on who baled it 🙂 She ate a bale a day. Our grass stops growing when the nights are consistently below freezing so we start feeding hay in late Sept early Oct. and sometimes go into May. This last year she calved out in December (bleck~ she was pregnant when she came to us) so she was making 5 gallons of milk a day and feeding a calf all the way through winter. I fed her as much as she could stomach. She’s pretty big as far as Jersey’s go~ her shoulder is almost up to my shoulder and I’m 5’11. We make our own hay too but the supplement hay (we don’t have enough property to make all her hay and allow her to graze all summer too) was $7/ bale: the most we have EVER paid. We were in a drought all last year too so hay prices were at a premium. Hopefully all that will change this year. 🙂
Ah – milking cows need much more – now that makes sense – but she is a good do-er! SEVEN dollars a bale – ouch. c
Finger, toes, legs, arms and eyes all crossed!!! Rain, rain, stay away!
Linda
fun shots- especially of the girls! Have a lovely DRY week!
Yes dry with a warm mild breeze. that would be good. c
I started a course in beginner’s Italian last week, so I hope this is correct: buona fortuna con il tempo (good luck with the weather).
I always enjoyed haymaking as a horse-mad child – when we cut hay in the churchyards and roadside verges and carted it back in a trap drawn by an irascible chestnut cob, and also as an adult, when the whole village turned out to help our farming friends when rain threatened.
Love the picture of your cheery helpers.
love,
ViV xox
I love the idea of everyone coming down to help get the hay in. Italian is a beautiful language – you are co clever with your languages.. c
Not yet. It’s very hard.
It was an annual event to look forward to, when we all got sunburned and prickled up our arms.
My 93-year-old cousin is a learning Spanish. She’s also working on her second Masters degree. That’s a lot to look up to. Lots of love, your Gayle
Oh, I love the smell of fresh hay! I hope the weather stays fine for your hay-making. The proverb to “make hay while the sun shines” can be quite literally applied in this case! 😃
We had 55mm rain last weekend, but could still do with some more – pack it off my way should it try to disrupt the haymaking 🙂 We will be keeping a eye on Aunty Dels right side. Laura
My father worked on his brother-in-law’s farm in his youth. They used a sythe the first couple years then had a horse drawn mower (a huge improvement). He used to say there was such a good smell to the new mown hay, and he liked the sound of the sythe. That’s about a hundred years ago now. The plow was horse drawn too. No rain till the hay is in.
Beautiful workers. Their smiles say it all. Ton thinks he’s a Dutch belted. Hm. Funny boy.
Fingers crossed. No rain. And a p and not a g for Aunty Del.
Yes – here’s hoping!
I ♡ grass farmers ☺
I have the most terrible grass envy as we hit winter after a long dry summer, with a 1/2 inch green flush in the paddocks. Your place looks great; sleek animals, lovely pasture and willing workers. What else could you ask for (apart from an extended run of dry days). Have you ever considered preg testing using a sample of tail blood you draw yourself and send to Biotrak? Much cheaper than the vet, without the risk of miscarriage that early palpation carries.
I could blood test but I am in the mood to see what happens next – I have no equipment or knowledge for drawing blood from a cow – we will know in the next few weeks anyway. c
She is due in about 6 weeks so we should be seeing an udder develop rigth about now!!.. c
Such beautiful cows and pretty girls — I love their happy looking grins.
Fingers crossed for a few days of dry weather… then I hope it pours down for a day or two; we could use it.
Hope you’ve had a lovely day too. ~ Mame 🙂
That is a lot of hay when you do the math!
What a fun and rewarding life!
If ever there was a “Before” picture! LOL!
Wishing you dry, breezy weather, and not too hot.
I’m playing ‘catch up’ with your latest posts – I loved seeing the photos of the newly mowed grass… brings back great memories! ; o )