Mowing hay...

Yesterday it began.  NumberOneSon has been checking and greasing and preparing the tractors and equipment for the big run.  Haying is beginning!  The men were inspecting one large part of our hayfields and found that there was weevil in it, eating away and killing the alfalfa, so it was either cut it a little early or lose it entirely to the nasty bugs.

The men are excited about haying this year because we have three new pieces:  a mower, a wheel rake, and a baler.  The tractors are old, but they're trustworthy and willing to pull.  So this new Vermeer mower is quite the deal!  We are used to running a swather, but this little honey is speedy, wide, and can really cut the hay down.  What normally took the swather 12 hours to cut, only took about 8 hours.  The next step after the mowing is to rake the hay, turn it over, and then follow behind and bale it up.  I'm excited because I will be one of the haying crew who will rake up hay.  I have a nifty little open-air tractor that I just love to drive.  I like it because I can stand up or sit down and I get that open air, free feeling when I'm out turning hay.  I'm really hoping that the bugs aren't too bad this year.  So far the mosquitoes have been especially numerous, but I think with the breeze blowing on me and the heat of the engine, I should be fairly bug free.  I will, however be prepared.  I ordered some mosquito netting for our hats and heads since there were none to be found locally, and of course, there's Deep Woods Off if my natural stuff doesn't work.

We were all excited about our new implements and all the children took their turns riding with Daddy to see how the new mower would work.  The rest of us watched from the field and admired what a fine job it did.  This morning we would have gone to work raking the hay, but it rained .6" early in the morning and so we left it to dry out for the day.  It's been a cool, cloudy day here today so I'm not sure how much drying-out the hay did.  We'll get 'er done sooner or later.

In the meantime, I enjoyed walking through my veggie gardens and my flower gardens, admiring what God does in the seasons.  We brought the cows home from two different pastures.  You can see one bunch out beyond my flowers.  I had the pleasure of walking behind another bunch of cows and calves trailing them part of the way home, minus the wet areas where the mosquitoes would have carried me away!

Happy Sunday.
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"But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
I will sing to the Lord,
Because he has dealt bountifully with me."
~Psalm 13 5,6