At last the first bales of 2019 are stacked in the yard. Words cannot describe what a relief it is. I celebrated (once ears and shoulders, fused together from tension, had been surgically separated) with a stiff drink.
To add to the tension dark clouds have loomed all day, the thought of our lovely fluffy hay being soaked again was an awful prospect. I try very hard not to stress about these things, after all, what difference does it make whether we worry or not?
All this activity which involved the Baler (takes in the hay and sends it out the back as if the machine is doing a poo) the wrapper (if you get a chance to watch one of these machines working definitely do, its quite a sight) the tele handler and tractor with trailer was watched by the nosy cattle. There is literally NEVER a boring day on a farm, like ours, too much is going on. We even had a red kite swooping above us while all this activity continued below.
Hubby is very, very unwell and apart from giving advice its impossible for him to do anything practical. I cannot imagine how hard that must be after farming your whole life. If we show him videos of photos its upsetting. If we don’t let him know what is happening he feels obsolete. This is why he has the role of consultant. Until now how we didn’t appreciate how knowledgeable he is, the thought of going it alone is utterly terrifying.
Our ex apprentice from several years ago has come back to help after his day job. He has been such a wonderful help and support. For somebody so young his knowledge of machinery is incredible. Some youngsters don’t enjoy school but never right them off, what price do you put on practical skills? These are the guys/girls who will earn big bucks in the future and the rest of the academics are replaced by technology. They are problem solvers.
Ploughing mashed potato 