To me this is kind of a funny post today. It just reminds me that anything can pop up, when farming, at anytime and present a challenge.
Even if it turns out to be rather an enjoyable one for men!
We don’t grow and cut our own hay. We have tried it in the past. Cutting, drying and raking by hand because we
lacked equipment. We are getting to old
for this route. We also tried having a
local farmer who cuts many people’s fields around here for a percentage of the
bales. He cut it so late that our fields
looked bad for so long and he left the hay bales sitting in the field to get
rained on. Not good for goats. I know, I know…people say that a goat will
eat anything from tin cans to laundry. But
anyone who has bred, raised and milked goats knows differently. They are the most wasteful creatures when it
comes to hay…and I am saying that in a loving way. As I do love having goats but soon had to
learn some lessons in feeding them hay. I
buy the best Bermuda because if I get fescue or a hay mix they pick thru it and what
they didn’t want, in that bite, gets dropped on the ground and they won’t eat it
once it touches the ground. (unless I put
clean straw in their pen after mucking, then the dummies sort thru that and eat
it!) Also I developed a hay rack that helps
tremendously. (I will write a post on
that soon)
I am picky about hay.
I am weird I know. But I can
smell it and tell how good it is. If it smells
so good it makes me hungry, it is good!
See, I told ya, weird. I have
been getting my hay for the last many years from Roland Hay Farm. Great hay and really nice guy to work with.
I usually order square bales, to stock the barn with, in the
fall, to get us thru winter. He brings it
and stacks it. Then I use round bales
for the ponies. They usually eat one
thru out the winter, out in the field (with a hay ring around it) and I put one up in
the barn we tear apart and pack their hay racks with for their night munchings. When we go to pick up a round bale dad and I
drive over to their hay barns and they put a round bale on our truck by using a tractor with hay spikes . When we get home we back the truck to where
we want it and roll the bale off. Dad,
William and I, usually, easily roll it to where we want it and we are done. We have been
doing this for years and never had an issue.
Ever.
Well for the first time in 14 years we were blessed with
such a large roll with such a flat side it was resting on, the three of us COULD
NOT get the thing off the truck. Could not
even budge it. sigh. I was frustrated. But the two men got all excited. A new challenge! How can we do it!?? What equipment or tools can we use!?? My idea got shot down. I said to tie the bale to the barn with a
strap and drive the truck away. I guess
that was a girl answer as I got laughed at and great gasps. I guess it could have pulled the barn
down? Who knew? Thank God for men. I just stood back, let them do their thing
and took pictures. After all I just
wanted a round bale where I needed it.
Dad doesn’t have hay spikes on his tractor but went to get
it, he put a strap around the bale and pulled it off the truck. Then we drove the truck off and rolled the
bale into the barn to where I wanted it.
It was still a challenge to move from the ground as it had one huge flat
area (see above picture!) so once we got it going we needed the
momentum to keep it going to get it where I wanted it.
After we had the huge hay bale in place the men went off to
cut wood very satisfied with what had been accomplished.
I haven't seen the guys so happy to take a bale off the truck in my life! Thank you God for keeping us all safe and helping us get it where it needed to go.
Blessings,
susan
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