I did it!!!!

Well, the hay was ready. Grandpa wasn't here yet. Hubby happened to be home picking up some parts, so he took the tractor and baler to the field, swung the pick-up, set the bale tension and off we went. He stayed with me long enough to see I wasn't making any glaring mistakes and left me to the job.

The kids got into the act as well, rolling bales out of the way. Why, you may ask?? Since last year we use a New Holland Stackliner to pick the bales up from the field. This serves a number of purposes. Very often, the hay has been ready to bale, but my hubby is still on a job. He was the wagon stacker. I had back surgery six years ago and shouldn't be moving haybales. With the Stackliner, we can drop it on the ground when baled and pick it up later, eliminating the need for hubby to knock off early, or have a field get past ready while waiting for him. Why not get a thrower, I am sure some are asking. Well, you still have to handle the bales to get them off the wagon. Stackliners like the one we have are designed to unload the hay right onto the elevator. That means I can unload and then we need a couple people in the mow to take care of it.

So if he isn't right there picking up the bales, there are some in the way for the last round. So the kids have the job of rolling them out of the way. The bales have to land on their edge rather than strings up in order to be picked up. The bales come out of the baler strings up and as they fall, a bar turns them. It does fail on occasion, so the other job is to make sure they get turned a quarter turn. It was hot yesterday, but a strong breeze blew, so you didn't suffer too much. Thomas used the Steiner lawn tractor to get around the field, and took turns with his sister Suzanna, who was riding her bike across the field. The dog, Emma, decided the sun was too hot on her black coat and ended up riding in the Steiner which has a partial cab and therefore provided some shade.

In the end, there are 109 bales of first cutting alfalfa in the barn and it looks like a little rain heading our way this morning. Hubby's dad is heading back out this morning to cut some more hay. The forecast looks terrific for the week ahead.