Saturday, June 20, 2020

haying when the sun shines



How many times did I climb the old ladder today? I have lost count by now. Slowly trickles the sweat from my face down my neck. With the pitchfork, Sander throws the hay up the hayloft. I insert the pitchfork into the hay and slide over the old plank floor to the back, then quickly down the ladder to get the next load. We walk back to the meadow with each a wheelbarrow. Why did the old cart have to be broken just now? Misery never seems to come alone. I set my mind to zero, it´s only to continue now. Hey! Did I feel a drop!? I look up and see that even though I am standing in the burning sun, thick clouds are starting to gather. We increase the work rate and quickly fill up the carts and bring the next load to the barn. Phew, it is sweltering today and even the breath of wind that arises cannot bring the comfort we so long for.


The week started so well. The grass was long and herbs were in full bloom.
The scythes sang while the fragrant grass was cut rhythmically. When I stretch my back I see the rows of cut grass behind me. How thick it is this year! I take the whetstone out of the holder to sharpen the scythe. While we each continue in our own rhythm of mowing and whetting, after a little more than 3 hours we have half the meadow ready.
After a hearty breakfast, it's time to spread out all the grass so that the sun and wind can do their job of drying it.



In recent years we have let it dry on "hässjor" every time, but this year we want to try drying it on the field and so we can drive it right in. Now that we have so much hay left of last year, we can afford to experiment a bit with different techniques.

After so many hours of mowing and whetting, it is time for the scythes to be sharpened with the peening anvil. A rhythmic hammer sounds when Sander has placed the peening anvil in the ground in front of him and carefully knocks the cutting edge of the scythe blade.


The next day we mow the 2nd half of the field and shake the grass well again. The weather forecast is looking good and now all we have to do is let it dry before we can put it on the hayloft.


The grass dries nicely in the sun and crunches so beautifully when we shake it. We drop into one of the windrows and enjoy a cold bottle of water, mmm. A few sheep clouds float by. In the distance, a few cows roar and you can hear the soft tinkling of the cowbell. The idyll of country life seems to have become reality ....




Until this morning. The weather forecasts are changing hourly. A large front with thunderstorms and extreme rainfall is slowly moving this way. Now the hay has to go in! It was also time, but with this on the horizon we are walking our feet out from under our bodies, taking the heat of the day for granted. I grab the handles of the overloaded wheelbarrow and drag it behind me. Over the bumps and through the holes. It almost tilts when I trip over a stone, but luckily I keep it upright. The cloud cover is getting darker and darker and gusts of wind and windlessness follow each other. Come on, go on! One more time I climb the ladder. I have no eye for that the hayloft fills up nicely. Another load ready. Down again. There is a deep rumble in the distance and the sky turns a deep purple. I look at the field, we are almost done. Shall we make it?


Bang, Sander closes the hayloft door with a bang. Successful! The hay is in! The first drops start to fall. First one and then another one. The wind picks up slowly. The beautiful weather is now long gone. We run to the house when the rain breaks loose. A thick lightning bolt and a big bang almost simultaneously. The glasses vibrate in the frames. We look at each other. That was close! We look through the windows in terror. Fortunately not the barn! When I look through the small window of the door, there I see it. The bottom half of the trunk of a large tree has the crack completely cut off. Even from here, I see the pieces. Phew, that was close by, at most 30 meters. But it all went well. We are safely inside and the hay is in the barn. This was a laborious week!



1 comment:

  1. I missed you! I'm glad that you were able to bring the hay ahead of the rain. That was quite close with the lightning. We are waiting on haying equipment and will be missing the early cutting of hay. The rain has not come in its usually torrents, so it is not as thick as we usually have. We should be able to cut hay in July.
    God Midtsommer!

    ReplyDelete

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