thistlebloom
Garden Master
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2010
- Messages
- 16,473
- Reaction score
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- Location
- North Idaho 48th parallel
It's hay season and we have a great neighbor that hauled 5 tons of hay for us and dropped off his trailer in the front so we could unload at our leisure.
("Leisure" and bucking hay are not compatible in the same sentence).
My poor husband works as a tile man all day and gets to come home to more hot, sweaty, scratchy, dusty, heavy work. And he doesn't even like horses. What a deal huh?
There were 4 layers of 34 bales each. DH used the ladder to slide the bales down to me, and I manipulated them onto the trailer.
We decided we would do one layer per evening.
He said my horses are killing him off, but I figured it's best to not hurry it along. Make it a slow lingering kind of death... kidding kidding!
Two evenings in a row and I was feeling very bad for him. It really is rather miserable work, especially when it's hot.
A woman neighbor (a young healthy one) passed us on the road the second evening just as we loaded the last bale of the night on the trailer. She expressed a keen interest in helping us two old folks out. We told her we would be there the next day at the same time. Or unless you sneak over here early tomorrow I sort of whispered to her.
However, in the morning after my husband left, and warned me to not move hay until he got home, I had a second cup of coffee, and that increased my confidence.
I can totally do this!, I told myself. And I agreed.
Wouldn't it be awesome if when he got home, totally expecting to join the chain gang again, the work was all done?!
Yes!
I went at it with enthusiasm and it was fun! There were 68 bales, or about 2 tons left on the trailer. I slid it off the big trailer onto the small trailer towed by Janie and drove it over to our cattle panel hay structure,(which is pretty cool if I do say so myself). Then slid, pushed rolled and shoved it into place in the stack. I felt it was important to hide when I heard a neighbors car coming. For some reason I wanted this to be a stealth operation. There was an awkward moment when I was caught up on the big trailer when a neighbor came by. I swore her to secrecy, since her FIL would show up in an instant with his tractor if he knew what I was doing.
Janie and I were a team. Isn't she cute?
By the last load, about 3 hours and 4 dodged neighbors later, I was sagging badly. It had definitely turned into a marathon. My bales were not stacked on the trailer neatly and I no longer cared. As long as they didn't fall off it was good.
My husband got home and was surprised, but a little unhappy that I didn't wait for him.
I was proud that at my age I can still do it. It was gift to my hard working husband and it was a little bit of a personal Everest for me.
And I am also happy to say that I wasn't sore at all the next day.
Next year we may hire some neighbor kids though.
("Leisure" and bucking hay are not compatible in the same sentence).
My poor husband works as a tile man all day and gets to come home to more hot, sweaty, scratchy, dusty, heavy work. And he doesn't even like horses. What a deal huh?
There were 4 layers of 34 bales each. DH used the ladder to slide the bales down to me, and I manipulated them onto the trailer.
We decided we would do one layer per evening.
He said my horses are killing him off, but I figured it's best to not hurry it along. Make it a slow lingering kind of death... kidding kidding!
Two evenings in a row and I was feeling very bad for him. It really is rather miserable work, especially when it's hot.
A woman neighbor (a young healthy one) passed us on the road the second evening just as we loaded the last bale of the night on the trailer. She expressed a keen interest in helping us two old folks out. We told her we would be there the next day at the same time. Or unless you sneak over here early tomorrow I sort of whispered to her.
However, in the morning after my husband left, and warned me to not move hay until he got home, I had a second cup of coffee, and that increased my confidence.
I can totally do this!, I told myself. And I agreed.
Wouldn't it be awesome if when he got home, totally expecting to join the chain gang again, the work was all done?!
Yes!
I went at it with enthusiasm and it was fun! There were 68 bales, or about 2 tons left on the trailer. I slid it off the big trailer onto the small trailer towed by Janie and drove it over to our cattle panel hay structure,(which is pretty cool if I do say so myself). Then slid, pushed rolled and shoved it into place in the stack. I felt it was important to hide when I heard a neighbors car coming. For some reason I wanted this to be a stealth operation. There was an awkward moment when I was caught up on the big trailer when a neighbor came by. I swore her to secrecy, since her FIL would show up in an instant with his tractor if he knew what I was doing.
Janie and I were a team. Isn't she cute?
By the last load, about 3 hours and 4 dodged neighbors later, I was sagging badly. It had definitely turned into a marathon. My bales were not stacked on the trailer neatly and I no longer cared. As long as they didn't fall off it was good.
My husband got home and was surprised, but a little unhappy that I didn't wait for him.
I was proud that at my age I can still do it. It was gift to my hard working husband and it was a little bit of a personal Everest for me.
And I am also happy to say that I wasn't sore at all the next day.
Next year we may hire some neighbor kids though.
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