Hey! Uhhhh I mean Hay!

Saturday morning. 6:15 am. Most people are still snoozing away in the comfort of their warm toasty beds, which isn't great since we have had 90+ degree days. But that is when it all began. I feel a poke. "Are you awake?" Really? would I be sleeping at 6:15am on a Saturday. How absurd! I roll my tired body out of bed and throw on my shorts, a t-shirt and my trusty sharkfest baseball hat. Today, we get to, not have to, collect 385 bales of hay so our cows have something to munch this winter. We wanted to get an early start to beat the heat. Yeah, right. It was more about tormenting my 42 year old not a morning person body.

The average bail of hay that we were collecting today weighs about 65 pounds. As I gaze across the first of 3 fields to be gathered, the scent of newly cut hay enters my nostrils and livens my senses to a fresh new day.



Ahh the rural life.I know your jealous. Come on, admit it, your jealous you don't get to drive the hay truck as husband and son throw you dirty looks because you run over a wayward bale or stray to far off the path of hay rows while you imagine yourself on the back of a wild horse running from renegade outlaws. Or maybe I was busy trying to take pictures while they weren't looking. This is a classic side mirror shot. He didn't even see it coming.


This is where I threw the truck in low, tied the steering wheel so it would maintain a southward direction between the rows of hay, hopped out and took a picture of them loading hay then jumped back in taking the wheel one more time without missing a beat. Not really, but it is a great idea. Can I hope we will have more hay to haul so I can put this idea to the test? It makes me giddy just thinking about it!



I do need to share with you a basic concept of being the driver. I had both windows rolled down so I could hear any direction being shouted out (or was it because when they hopped in the truck I didn't want them to know I had the air conditioner on high while they wilted in the sweltering heat?). Did you know that when someone shouts "Pull forward, a little left, slow down and STOP" all in the same breath, that means don't move at all? Something new I learned.

The lead truck driven by head cowboy Mark, leading us back to the ranch. I am suppose to figure out a name for our ranch. I have narrowed it down to...
1. Dried Up Salmon River Ranch
2. Loose Pig Farm (loose as in running around not fluezy loose)
3. Laughing Cowboy Ranch - because we are so dern jolly around here when we work!
4. Can't Get a Permit for Anything Farm

We can take a vote later to see which is your favorite.



Here we are stacking the hay in our new barn/garage. Even though Cowboy Mark points and gives directions, we all concede that it is Coty who is the best hay stacker around.



In fact he got so good at stacking that his only request for his birthday, listen up grandparents for early notice, is a pair of these...


His own custom hay hooks. He says he would like longer ones that fit his taller, leaner body. And if he could get them in some stylish color, such as purple and orange like the Phoenix Suns Basketball team, that would be cool.

All in all the day went well. The only time we had issues, was when we would find half of a mouse or snake sticking out of a bale of hay. Oh that, and when I would get in the truck after Cowboy Mark drove it, the back of my shirt would get wet because of his sweaty back leaning against the seat. Other than that, we finished at 3:00 and everyone got a well deserved shower. Thanks for sharing out day on the farm. Can I get a Yeehaw!

On a side note...
Here are the slackers in the group. Laying on the cool concrete eating otter pops and wreaking havoc. Maybe we should name the our farm after them.. "Otter Pop Slacker Ranch"