For the last few mornings I have had the very best intentions. Get up at the usual time 5m, coffee, write, post, 6am,one hour of homework then out the door for chores, 7am. Not this week apparently!
Something was always getting me up too early and with one big heave leapfrogging me over the first two hours of work and straight into the field.
This morning for instance – a steer out. A little one but he was reluctant to walk all the way around to a gate so I had to further break down the fence he got UNDER and then fix it up again. That was at 5 this morning.
I heard an out of place mooing in the night and then fell fast asleep. Must have been when he wandered. Though getting him back in was a lot easier in daylight.
But at the risk of losing homework time (after all I have a house and two little businesses to manage as well as the farm) I need to tell you I got the hay in with the help of my hay man! And it is beautiful.
I went for 1/2 ton rounds as an experiment. John bought me a long spike that attaches to my little tractor and I will begin to move them off the fields today.
The best ones will go inside and the grass hay from beside the ditch ( I call it gully hay) can stack outside. I will put tarpaulins on top of them.
So all up I have a good TEN tons of hay and about three tons of oat straw. All good and dry and lovely. Phew.
The humidity made this a long pull and I spent hours on the tractor rolling hay or with the fork getting every mouthful into the rows. I pay the hay man by the hour so I have everything ready.
Now I will spend hours bringing the bales in but John will help me after work and there is no mad hurry.
Ok. The weather today is going to be lovely.
I am going to feed out then go to town to buy more electric fence rope to electrify across the weak back fence where cows are getting out.
Then I will begin to bring in my hay harvest!
How satisfying!
Have a lovely day.
Love celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
47 responses to “BEST INTENTIONS”
Cecilia,
How do I get to rate your farm? I want to give it the best rating.
Saul
You might need to go back
To the woofer site – go to my site and log that you have been on my farm- if you follow the directions the site will guide you through the process – I hope that helps- thank you in advance!
Such a crazy busy time you have; I am so grateful you can find the time for your blog (I.e. us!). I have often wondered how those massive rolls are moved. For years I commuted from a rural setting into the city to work and passed by one farm in particular that stored those rolls outside over winter. They were somehow inserted in what appeared to be long cylinders of white plastic. Sounds good but likely expensive and, once again, how to get them in and out – lol. Have a great day. — Mame 🙃
Those are likely to be baleage. It is a green wet hay – cows love it!
The hay looks beautiful. Wishing hay bales could be rolled with something other than plastic but such is life.
I agree ..
So glad about the hay!👍😊
“Hip, hip; HOORAY!!” for getting it all baled up, C!: )
It’s a common practice here for the balers to actually wrap these monster bales in white plastic and then they’re “stored” in long rows like a caterpillar… What to do with the wrapping afterward? Well, that has been a conundrum. Other farms buy those pole-ribbed semi-permanent shelters – sort of like a cross between a greenhouse and Quonset hut structure only open-ended. Not too sure how well they would fare in twister-prone areas though (and of course it all costs money… ):
So is baleage pretty much the same as what used to be done as sileage only not stored in a silo?
Yes! Exactly that. If it is well made it smells delicious… I could eat it myself!
Yes indeed; I remember the smell quite vividly!: )
Such a beautiful shot of the hay. It’s so pretty–the hay itself!
This morning just like every morning I have best intentions… may as well but it doesn’t stop the day going as it will 🤔
The hay photos are lovely, and the cows… I come from a long line of farmers ♡
Yes. I like that one.
I always like the feeling when I have a winter’s worth of hay in the barn. I live in a glaciated area, not much flat ground. Just north of here are the drumlins – high rolling hills. I often see the big round bales on them and just have to wonder if they ever roll down! For the record, I sure wouldn’t like driving the haybine or the baler or anything else on those steep hills!
Oh what lovely pictures, all of them, but particularly the first one. The shades of green, the light and dark – just beautiful!
When his kids were little, the Big Guy used to tell them fields like that were bear campgrounds – the bears had their sleeping bags rolled up ready to go to bed later in the evening. They have grown out of believing that of course, and so have the grandkids, but we’ve got the next generation coming up to tease.
Chris S in Canada
Gully hay? Many years ago, a restaurant downtown made a mistake with their grocery order, and got too much cabbage. Sadly, it was discarded. Well, I saw it on top of the dumpster, and cold not wast it, so took it and made a whole bunch of sauerkraut. It was known as ‘dumpster kraut’. It was not very good.
That last line makes this a very funny story!!
Sounds so very satisfying! And the smell of fresh hay … wonderful. Do tell, what homework are you doing Celi?
Literally – work around the home!