Sunshine on the Farm

The weather has finally cleared and we are able to get into the fields to cut hay.  With several days of sunshine forecast farming is moving forward at a fast pace.  The big question now is will the repairs on the hay baler work?  It seems like every season we spend about as much time fixing equipment as we do using it.  Putting up hay goes like this.  Cut hay.  Pray the mower keeps going until it is all cut.  Wait for hay to cure.  Run tetter over hay to fluff it up so it can cure more evenly.  Replace broken teeth in tetter.  Straighten two bars and replace two bars.  Rake hay.  Replace teeth in rake lost last year.  Bale hay. Work on baler. Bale hay.  Call dealer to send repairman to fix baler.  Bale hay. 

It seems like farmers are always working on equipment.  For one thing, you can't find out if it will actually work until you need it.  So, you make repairs and pray.  Another thing is that most farmers don't replace their equipment all that often.  It's expensive and since every farmer is a shade tree mechanic they just tinker with it until they get it to run.  I look out my sunroom window and it looks like a used machinery lot.  I'm pretty sure we have one of everything and they are all out getting ready to be used. 

The trick this week is that we have tobacco to set and hay all at the same time.  Hopefully, we will be able to get the tobacco in the ground while the hay is curing.  I'll be busy cooking for the help that will be riding the setter.  Not many people cook for hands anymore, but I enjoy it.  It's always fun to feed people that are hungry. 

Well, that's life on the farm for today.