Raking hay...

 Since we are now into haying season, I have a new "sweet ride."  This John Deere 2520 tractor and the Heston Rake are all the equipment I need to rake hay.  I like it that this tractor is "open air."  I can watch hawks fly overhead, I can sit down or stand up while I drive along, and I can hear, see, smell, feel, and even taste what I'm doing.  The taste part might be a stray bug flying in my mouth and sometimes I think I can taste the exhaust....not my favorite flavor.  I get a good sun tan doing this job, but I try hard not to over-do it.  Usually after noon I am totally covered up with long sleeves, jeans and boots so my hide doesn't burn.   The negatives about open air tractoring are the constant heat, dust, and wind.  It wears a guy or girl out by the end of the day.

 Here you can see the swather way off in the distance cutting down hay.  I think that's Grandpa cutting.  The hay isn't nearly as good as it has been for the past four years, but we'll take what we can get.  We had a dry winter with no snow pack and the spring has been equally dry so they hay crop will not be as bountiful.  We're just grateful we have quite a bit of carry-over hay from the past couple of years.

 

Looking back from the tractor seat, you can see the wheels and their tines spinning the rows of cut hay into a larger row that will be picked up by the baler when it has dried just enough.  We don't want to bale hay too dry or the leaves fall off the alfalfa and it shatters into bits, but we don't want to bale hay too wet or it will mold.

 These are raked wind rows -- the best hay we've cut -- all fluffed up and drying in the sunshine.  The birds love to pick the bugs off the hay and there are gobs of baby birds around the rows too.  They usually run out or clumsily try to fly out of the way before I get to them.  There are lark buntings, black birds, cow birds, horned larks, and willets in the field now.  There was a great swooping hawk out there with them too.  It's so fascinating to watch a hawk making his flight maneuvers as he looks for mice, snakes, and rabbits.

 Hubby does most of the baling but NumberOneSon does some too.  The FourthBorn either swaths or rakes.  It's nice to be able to swap jobs and relieve someone for a few hours.

 This REA pole's wires stayed covered in birds for the entire day yesterday.  They would take turns flying down, but as a few flew down, a few more would fly up and perch, all neatly spaced apart from one another.

 

 The sky was picturesque yesterday.  The day before, I was raking in a sweatshirt, stocking cap and gloves and was freezing by the end of the day, but yesterday it was hot and dry.  It sounds like there will be more hot, dry days ahead.

 

I started getting really sleepy at about 2:00 in the afternoon.  I had to stop and rest awhile.  I took a long drink of water, walked around the tractor a few times, and put my feet up for a few minutes.   Then it was back to work.  Wanna go for a ride with me?  There's not much room, but you can sit on the tire cover for a little while.  It's pretty bumpy out here so don't fall off.  Here we go!