We're Starting to Feel Like Real Homesteaders

Kent had a great idea. He talked to some neighbors who he had seen driving on our road with haying equipment. They looked at our field, which was grown chest high, and said they thought we could get 25 bales out of it. They offered to do it for a nominal fee and we said Yes!

The day they showed up to mow, we found that there is exactly enough room between these two Black Locust trees to get the mower into our field. Not an inch to spare. This was the widest access point we had without felling a tree. But they squeaked it in and mowed the field. Later they raked it over.


And finally the day came to bale it. This couple, Ed and Maxine, must be in their 70's but very fiesty. She winnowed the rows while he baled. Here's one of the first bales dropping out.


We didn't get the 25 bales they thought we might. Instead we ended up with... wait for it... eighty five bales!! Woohoo, that'll get us a good way through winter feeding our beef cows! And it's a fairly good quality hay that we know is free of pesticides.


I drove our pickup around the field while Kent heaved bales into the back. Then we stacked it on pallets and covered it good with plastic. Maybe someday we'll have a small barn, but this should do for now.

And we are left with a freshly mown field that we can perhaps get a second cutting from before the season is over.