And so, here we go, headfirst into July. What more can I say except I tend to be protective of my head when I dive. I like doing cannonballs best.

Today we got hay. I’d been paying close attention to the weather – it’s been intermittent – cloudy, overcast, and cold, not good hay growing conditions. I was, because of this, on edge. If all else failed, we could have gotten out of state hay, and paid $40.00 a bale. This would have meant refinancing the house.

It was business as usual out on the field. There were two other vehicles – a horse trailer and a regular trailer. I observed that those who got to the field first were moving slowly. We who got to the field after both customers out before them. We also made very short work of the task of getting hay because we have a routine. We move in, get the bales, tie the hay in place with ropes, then move out.

I remarked to Pete at one point that with each passing year, the task of shlepping hay around gets more difficult. Pete just laughed. My thinking is that he just isn’t there yet. I’m going to give him another five years and see if he then wants to drive a hay tractor.

Pete building he hay shed

When we were three-quarters away from having a full load, we were joined by Rose. She’s with John’s nephew. Rose was tall, thin, athletic, and her lengthy jet-black hair was pulled back out of her face.  Rose had the physical and mental energy of youth. She’s taking a break from school, is studying dairy science. I talked cows with her for some time. I invited her to our place, so we’ll see what happens.

We hurried home with our hay because it was starting to appear overcast. And we got it into the barn in record time. Of course, we had to clean the barn, this meant dealing with all kinds of stuff and old hay. I unloaded and Pete stacked the hay in the shelter.

I of course felt a sense of relief in seeing the hay neatly stacked in the barn. I always fear that we won’t have enough, or that what’s cut will be cut in limited amounts. Hay harvesting IS, of course, weather dependent.

I suppose that we could sell the horses, and in this way forego having to stock up and then have just enough hay available for the goats.

So yes, it’s a good time of year. We have hay in the barn, strawberries in the freezer, and lots more crop activity to follow.

The weather has been breezy, and it’s been cold. A warm spell this afternoon, that was all it took.

We picked up 90 bales off the field. Add this to our remaining stash, and we now have enough hay for the horses to get us through September, which was our goal.

Once again, we got lucky.

Giddy Up

Next: 182. 7/2/21: A Dog’s Life