The Last Days Of Summer

As our nights got cooler, the morning mists and dew grew heavier. This morning view is looking from the dog yard out over the Ninebark bushes, gravel road, north field and the trees beyond:

One pair of pigeons produced another baby. I feared it wouldn't make it, but it's been doing just fine:

The Wild Cucumber vines bloomed everywhere but were especially dramatic atop the old-fashioned rose bush. Alas, no photo of the combination turned out and I had to settle for just a photo of the Wild Cucumber blossoms:

Goldenrod, Burdock and Cattails abound along the fence line:

The New England Asters began to bloom. I hope they'll attract masses of butterflies like they did last year. There are a number of Monarch butterflies around but they won't hold still for photos:

One day I found half of my north field mowed:


And the next day my neighbor began tedding the mowed hay. Tedding is turning it over so it will dry thoroughly in the sun:

There was so much dew that he had to ted the mowed hay repeatedly:

And then, just before rain was expected, he and his uncle came to bale the hay. There were only 54 bales because the drought had kept it from growing for a month, but it was beautiful hay:

The best part for me was standing around afterwards and chatting:

The pink Rose Mallows began to bloom. They produce all their buds at the top of a big stalk which displays nicely outdoors, but renders them unusable for cut flowers, at least until the end of the season when there are just a few left. As you can see, the opening buds are gigantic like the flowers:

With the neighbors' barn and horse across the road, I thought they made a great late summer picture. You can see a red Rose Mallow bud on the top left, just about to open and add to the color:

Making Hay While The Sun Shines

It was two weeks later than last year's hay making, but we finally got good hay weather. Two neighboring farmer brothers arrived to cut my hay one fine day:

The mower is an exceptional piece of equipment, handily making tight turns and piling the hay neatly into windrows to begin drying:

The standing hay had looked too weedy to be useable, but they assured me it would look better, which is to say grassier, once cut. They were right:

They began in the small south field and then proceeded to the north field. The biggest portion of the south field is now a pasture for the cattle and does not produce hay for the winter:

They began raking the hay on the following day:

The windrows were turned over to allow it all to dry in the sun:

The cut and drying acres of fresh hay filled the air with a wonderful aroma:

And I found it fascinating to watch the ingeniously designed farm equipment at work:

On the third day, they brought over the hay baler:

They drove along the windrows and the baler picked up the cut hay, spinning it inside that big, red box:

When the spinning mass of hay reached the correct size, they stopped and the baler wrapped everything in orange twine:

Once the bale was collected, spun into a five foot diameter bale (about 1000 pounds) and wrapped in twine, the baler opened up and out rolled the bale. It reminded me of a giant, mechanical chicken, laying an egg. Here's a brief video:

Making Hay In The South Field

I hadn't been home on the Saturday when they cut my hay (see yesterday's post), but I was home on Sunday when the brothers returned to rake it. First, they checked to see how the hay was drying and said they were pleased:

Then they began pulling the hay rake down the windrows, turning it over to dry more thoroughly:

They had a fascinating, New Holland hay rake and I was very impressed:

Both brothers rode in the cabin for awhile, though one eventually drove home to tend to their dairy cows:

It's important for the hay to be dry before it's baled. Even though the big round bales will be stored outside, the hay inside them will stay pretty much as it was when baled. At least it will if the bales are tight enough:

And while they were raking the hay, I walked along the fence line hanging warning signs for anyone who might be tempted to try to touch the wires. And yes, I turned off the electricity first:

The raking took all afternoon. The next day, Monday, they returned with their baler. One brother kept raking in the far field while the other brother baled in the bigger, closer field:

I'd never seen a baler work before and thought you'd like to see it also. The tractor pulled the baler down the windrows, collecting hay and spinning it around inside the baler. At some point, the driver knew the baler was full and stopped while it whirred and banged and wrapped the bale in twine:

Then the back end of the baler opened up and a big round bale rolled out, kind of like a big, mechanical hen laying a giant egg:

The bale rolled out the back of the baler, the casing lowered back to operating position and the tractor began pulling it down more windrows:

It was a long process, but the day was beautiful and the cut hay smelled delicious:

When they were done, there were 44 giant bales. They will take half and I will take half. And they hadn't even begun cutting the north field yet: