Nice week for hay!! Filled the stable with hay!!

I mowed all my hay Monday. The boys mowed theirs Tuesday and Wednesday. The weather has been perfect for haying. Low humidity and highs in the mid to upper 70s. Well we needed to get some small bales for the Grand Daughter's horses. There were two fields that were perfect horse hay. 1/4 alfalfa and the 3/4 fine orchard grass. They really do not need that much hay for this year but fine grass hay that is in perfect condition, can be hard to get baled in some seasons. Hay in the mow is like money in the bank to me.

So I gathered up the available Grand kids to be hay help. We started baling Thursday afternoon, filled the wagons. I made the bales just a little shorter so they are around 40 lbs. This makes them easier for the girls to handle. So the four horse nuts ( Grand Daughters LOL) plus the two middle grand sons and one OLD fart Grandpa was the crew. LOL we started filling the stable mow Friday morning. Refilled the wagons Friday afternoon and finished filled the mow last night and this morning. We got right at 1800 bales in the mow. It is clear full. Even stacked two stalls that where not being used. The Horse nuts are tired but happy they now have more than
two years worth of hay.

Now a little history. The stable last had horses in it in 1959. The stable did not get used for other animals much since the 1960s as the stalls have to be hand cleaned. You just can not get into them easily even with a small skid steer. I often thought of tearing the stalls out but they are nice oak lumber and really make it a nice building. I just did not have the heart to tear them out, too much history would be gone. Then 4-5 years ago the Grand Daughters got horses. There are eight double stalls and four single stalls. My Grand father always kept teams of horses together, so hence the double stalls. The girls only use the single stalls and two of the doubles as storage. A couple of the double stalls are kept ready for visitor horses. They often go on trail rides with people from states away. They like having visitors. The girls have gotten permission from adjoining landowners and me for riding trails. They carry an insurance policy that covers us owners from liability. So with those two things in place they have over 3 miles of trails to ride on. They take care of the fences and gates related to the horses an trails. (they threaten to charge me "rent" when I use the trails for my UTV. LOL)

I can not remember the mow ever being clear full in my life time, as it is hard to get the hay in/out other than a few bales at a time to feed. The kids and I set on a few bales in the door of the stable enjoying the nice cool breeze blowing through, while resting after getting done. I just closed my eyes and LIVED the moment. The smell of fresh baled hay, the odor of horse manure, the sound of horses in their stalls, and the gentle cool breeze. That moment made me darn glad I never did change the building. It is being used like when it was built in 1894. Not many farm buildings left that are than old around here. I wish I had a picture of us setting there. I hope they remember this day with an old man in an old building. I wonder if they will be setting in the same place years from now with their kids and grand kids????

I remember all the time t spent with my grandpa putting up hay first little bales then round bales had some hot itchy days but it was something I?ll never forget

Great story.

Me and my Grandpa haying (maybe 1956?)




Cut with a sythe (sp), stooked and 'looped'. About 2 acres.

That?s how a man puts up hay

Memories like that are nice, and hard to replace.

With a cell phone, taking good pictures is a snap. Hopefully you do too. My partner on the 4020 and baler #1.

Spent my summers there. 180 acre isthmus at the entrance to Desolation Sound, B.C. A truly beautiful place. Google it if you like - Galley Bay, B.C.

great day!! Thanks so much for sharing that...I really admire you,,and yours ,,and am so glad I met you here on this site

JD brings back memories of my youth as well. You also taught your grandchildren a valuable work ethic lesson that most children don't have the desire or opportunity to do today.

Thank You for posting that. I enjoyed reading it! We have done about 1800 small squares also, about 2/3 of it sold. The hay side of the mow is full. Combining oats will start very soon, then fill the other side with straw.
The biggest problem I have is finding help to put hay and straw in the mow. I?m glad you have help.

Thanks I will look that up . I lived With my grandparents growing up and it was a time I?ll never ever forget and I wouldn?t trade those memories for 10 billion dollars.

Thanks for bringing back old memories. I remember one time in particular I worked hard enough at the end of the day I could hardly lift my arms. I saw a scenic amish haymaking picture on facebook. I'll add it rather than putting it on a separate thread.

I know I?ll always remember the last time using horses haying with the farmer who mentored me. I?ll remember because the horses were so excited on a big load of bales on a wagon they surged ahead and broke the pole and pulled him out through the lsquare in the rack that the reins passed through.

Fantastic area isn?t it Bob.
We go up to Cortez Isl every year.... truly a different world.
Grant

JD that is great that you can work with your grand youngins like you do. Someday they ll be glad they got to work with Grandad. I have fond memories of working with my Grandad. He s been gone since Dec. of 02. That is one man I sorely miss. Think of him everyday. Your grandkids will have fond memories of you. RB

Great story JD. You will always have these memories. I too, like to read your stories. I agree with what others have said in the past. You need to write a book of all your stories. You could put me down for a copy! You and your family set back and relax a bit now.

Your granddaughter's will have good memories of working with you. You and I are about on the same page with granddaughter's and horses. Two of my granddaughter's who live across the road have horses. One of the granddaughter's just likes to ride. The other granddaughter is more interested in horses than anything else in the world. She also is very competitive and likes to go fast so she barrel races competitively. Today she is somewhere in the twin cities area competing.

Anyway, my son told them they will have to work for their horses so they are the baling crew and grandpa drives the baler along with giving them pointers on stacking the rack. This shot is them picking off the ground in the cattle yard or what once was cattle yard. I didn't have the baler cranked down tight enough and the loose bales were hard for them to stack straight.





Here's a shot of her performing a month ago.

Great great great! All of it! So many bales done and in the barn and sounds like really nice hay, too. Perfect you had the family helping. Neat old stables and history. Best of all, the nice trail system you have for the horse riders. Sounds like a nice place to be.

nice nice. about 1955 or 56, Dad made a hay stack of bales in a field that he rented, maybe 6-8 tiers high. I still remember Grandpa Weeks and I going up to the field to "sleep on the haystack". I would have been 5 or 6. we never did find a level enough spot for the blankets to be comfortable, so we ended up sleeping back at home. but I still recall the night.

I barely remember hay being stacked outside. That ended when grandpa bought the round baler.

Dad's cousin told a story about staying on the farm to help during the summer when he was a teen. Grandpa was working nights in town and told him to put up two wires fence around that hay pile and hook it up to the other fence so the cows don't get into it.

Grandpa got home to two hot wires around the hay pile, but was convinced Bud didn't do it right, walked down and grabbed the wire with his pliers to cut it and being a few yards from the fencer, got hit hard.

He headed toward the house in a rage, Bud was headed for the front door, when grandma, all of 5 feet tall and maybe 100 pounds fully clothed and soaking wet, told him to stay there and finish his breakfast. Grandpa was 6 foot, not long out of the navy. He hit the door, and before he could step through there's grandma, "now George, he did exactly as you told him, and you were the one dumb enough to go down and grab the wire without checking it first!"

Bud told that story at grandma's funeral. Said grandpa looked kinda dumb for a minute and headed for the barn.

Looks like that horse is giving everything it has!

Your grand father made double stalls for his teams. Sounds like he took good care of his horses. A good Man.

Fantastic story. I just love the way you talk about your family. I am sure they are as proud of you as you are of them. Thanks again for sharing your life with us.