Hay Field « COUNTRY LINKed

Being a farm mom I relish the times that my children are with me. Depending on what I am doing or where I am at, they are not always with me on or off the farm. Take Wednesday for instance. That morning three of us left the house to go to swimming lessons. Kendall, the middle child, had already left to go to a 4-H Clover Kid camp and we would be picking her up later.

Two with me, one not.

After arriving home with all three kids, a babysitter came to watch them so that I could go to the hay field to help.

None with me.

After getting the hay done, I went to the house and got Wyatt, the oldest, so that he could help plant beans. I went to the field too with the extra beans in case they were needed.

One with me, two not.

After the beans were planted it was back to the hay field to pick up small square bales of alfalfa. Wyatt was needed to help drive so that I could help pick up bales.

One with me, two not.

After all the work was done, it was time to head back home and fix supper.

Three with me.

I relish the time together with my children. The learning and growing that they do. The sense of accomplishment that I see on their faces. The love for each other and the land that we are raising them on. Yes, I even love the dirty knees and the ripped out jeans.

Blessings to you and any child who has ripped the knees of their jeans,

Laurie – Country Link

Here we were again, in the hay-field picking up small square bales of alfalfa. (Ok, they are really long rectangles, but for years history has called them square bales, so that is what we call them.) This time however the temperature was not in the high 90’s and there was a slight breeze, thus making it a nice evening to be in the hay-field. And we all were in the hay-field. Me, Husband, Kids, Gpa, Hired-hand, and Team Hall. Team Hall, my sister, her husband and son, were here to help on a big project that has only taken 25 years to materialize and did not plan on going to the hay-field, but Gpa had other plans. When Gpa says go to the hay-field, you go. With all of the extra help, I was relieved of my usual duties as driver and got to instead take pictures. I have been wanting to take lots of pictures in the hay-field but can not do to the fact that the driver has a very important job, driving.

Let me break it down for you how we haul hay on our farm. First off you have the truck and long flat-bed trailer. The driver, usually me, is to drive slowly and consistently along the hay bales so that the picker upper’s can pick up the bales and put them on the trailer. You go slow so that you do not wear out the guys on the ground doing the picking up and so that you do not throw the stacker, usually my husband, off the trailer as he stacks the hay. Pretty easy, right? Yes and no. When you have a nice evening like we had on Saturday it goes pretty good. When you have 100 plus degrees and no breeze and not enough help, well then things go a little slower.

This night there was only 145 bales, so we could get them all in one load. A few bales were not tight enough and too long, so they were re-baled, but other than that a good night in the field with family.

My brother-in-law and I took a little break while they rebaled the loose bales and made fun of my sister. I know it is not nice, but we love her and she knows that if we did not give her a hard time, then there would be something wrong. And two, she could not hear what we were saying. So I snapped pictures of her doing manual labor, which she tries really hard not to do, and we talked about her. Have I mentioned that I do love my sister? And that I am very proud of her because in less than two weeks she will be walking 60 miles for breast cancer? More of that to come, but this is her third Susan G. Komen Walk for a Cure. Hay, if you can haul hay, you can walk 60 miles, right.

Here are a few more pictures from the hay-field, because again, I don’t usually have the opportunity to just take pictures. I was also watching the kids and making sure that they did not get in the way, or ran over. My sister was a little rusty at the driving in the hay-field bit and she also had help from a three-year old.

Don’t worry I will tell you about the project that has taken 25 years to materialize and I will also share with you our day at the Missouri State Fair. Have lots of pictures to go through first.

Blessings to You,

Laurie – Country Link

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