Tonight will be a forever memory for this new family. This beautiful summer Sunday evening was spent bucking hay together, the new husband and wife, the new step siblings…all of whom are also new to country life. As hard as the work is, it’s a very enjoyable way to spend a summer evening! I like it far better than watching TV, let me tell you!
It’s our first time putting up on our own hay. It won’t be the best hay we’ve put in front of our horses, and I am doubtful about how well it will go over for our picky eaters, but we’ve got 291 bales of it and I hope by fall we have some cows to be feeding, and they’re sure to like it. Improving our fields so we can grow really nice hay is definitely on our to-do list for the distant future. But tonight? Tonight was the kids taking turns driving the truck and my heart swelling with pride as I watched one drive the one-ton while another pitched bales to the top of the pile…and the hubby quitting work on the roof to come join us. No, the house still isn’t livable, but we’ve got winter to plan for regardless, and getting the hay put up is part of that.
The kids and I had to clean out a corner of the barn–which has already had a thorough going over since it was full of junk when we bought the place–and we will likely have to clean out more to make room for all this hay. That’s okay.
The only downside there is the wetness of the barn. Turns out it was built over an underground spring and we have layer upon layer upon layer of tarps in there…buried under decades old hay, in places. None of that really does anything about the wetness. We were hoping to get the whole floor cemented over this fall, so we can get stalls in there in addition to hay storage, but now, I don’t know…I put wood down to keep the hay up off the wet stuff, but if we do have the funds for putting in a cement floor this fall, no way are we moving 291 bales to make room for it. That part is definitely tbd!
Anyway, below are some pictures from this evening, most of which were taken by Emma, and now back to my point: Tonight was wonderful, with everyone working together working up a sweat and doing what they could to get the job done. Like Emma driving the truck slowly through the field as we tossed in the bales because she issn’t strong enough to pick up the bales. (She just turned 14.) And Jake in the back of the truck stacking the bales as I threw them in (he is only 13). And Bob joining us at last as he finished up some roof repairs, so we were really all working together, this new family of different people with different histories, to bring one big dream together.
Looking for a way to spend some quality time as a family? Buck hay on a summer Sunday evening, laughing and sweating and enjoying it all…then go to bed exhausted and content. Which is what I am about to do.
What a wonderful blog! Just great!
Thank you, Michael! It is quite the adventure we are on! 🙂