Clouds Perhaps, But Not a Drop of Rain in Sight…

I can’t remember Dear Reader, if I told you Vicktory Farm & Gardens hay crop was a total loss this year.  We tend the hay fields for Norine out back, they are part of the original hundred acre farm that VF&G used to be a part of up until a year and a half ago when we were able to purchase the twenty acres that we have lived on for the last twenty-five years.

Nearly thirty acres, save for the margin pieces and ponds, in hay back there, all wasted because of our unpredictable rainy summer that has followed our rainy year.

Larry, our Hay-Maker pictured above, has a farming friend Dave, whom he hays for as well. Dave has huge hay fields and has offered to sell us his.  So on to Dave’s place!  From the pieces of conversation, Dave grew up on his farm.  There will be more pictures soon, if he doesn’t mind.  Last night Dirt, Bet and I went for our first load of hay. 

In a small way this batch at Dave’s nearly seemed doomed as well.  Late last week there was predicted rain for Monday, but on Saturday they removed the prediction of rain, so Larry mowed Dave’s first field on Sunday (there are three or more large fields).  Guess what?  Right after he got done mowing they put rain back in the forecast!  Argh.  But it only lasted for a day and spit at us the next, so by Wednesday it looked good to bale, but then the baler through a fit, no not Larry, the machine.  Dirt stopped off at Dave’s on his way home to work on the baler with Larry and didn’t get home from “school” ’till seven. 

All good, and this is what we did last night.  Since I drive the truck instead of hoicking bales onto the trailer or stacking I didn’t get in the hay-warrior pictures but I was there, rest assured, some one has to drive truck and take the picture. 

Bet stacked this whole load herself.  Life is sweet in a hay field, it smells delicious, between sneezes, like honey on a hot day.  Ahhh hot day, no desire to go home and have a bowl of hot soup today! 

Dear Reader, we are so thankful that the weather finally straightened out, so very thankful.  And we are even more thankful that some of the older farmers in the hood have taken Dirt into their favor.  Larry has been awesome for us and now we are getting to know his friend Dave better.  In the past we would just pick up or drop off equipment to Dave’s place for Larry. 

I can’t wait for you to meet Dave, Dear Reader, you know how I once told you in a post about sledding that Dirt looked like Wilford Brimley’s little brother?  Well Dave is even more Wilford Brimley-esque than Dirt, he’s the middle brother.  I’m thinking of starting a Wilford Brimley Club for these guys.

Stay tuned for more haying pictures, I know I will post about it, it isn’t so much a promise as a given.  Dirt makes me post about haying whether I have time or not!  And after all this is his blog.  Sorta.

Oh, and how is  the weather holding out you ask?  Well we got home Dirt check the forecast and low and behold where there was only partially cloudy in the forecast for last night now there was chance of sprinkles.  Oh for crying out loud!

But that’s okay we have BlueTarp cure for that!  No sprinkles came our way after all and now the weather is back to just cloudy.  For now.