Roots In Sweden

"The

Harvest and Hauling

of

High-flying Hay"

Part II

As the wagons come rolling in  it is a beehive of activity!

You can hear the chug-chugging of the conveyer belt inside as it moves the hay out the back. 

You can hear the roaring suction of the hay vacuum as the hay gets forked in and flies up the tubing, across the upper levels and down into the hay barn.

The days start early and end late.

These pictures were taken at 10:00 o'clock at night

in the land of midnight sun.

Gustav and Maxie were definitely the 'Dynamic Duo' bringing in load after load without a break.

They worked tirelessly and without complaint along side Pappa and I and did such an excellent job.

And feeding it into the vacuum is a real art--

...too slow 

you lose precious time and keep the other wagons waiting,

...too fast 

you plug the pipes and the entire assembly has to be dismantled and cleared.

The boys had some of each.... 

 

and also a haywagon full of fun! 

They worked  hard and they played hard during this haying season and here is the result of their labors: 

 To the left of this gridwork in the haybarn is a mountain of hay!

The big wooden columns you see are supports for more hay to be blown down between them as overflow.

I was not able to get a still picture of the hay flying from the big blower that swings back and forth and shoots it out from the vacuum tube into the empty barn cavity.  There wasn't enough light up where it is suspended near the ceiling of the barn.  The closest I can come to describing it is the tubular forced air dryer that swings back and forth in the drive-thru carwash to dry your car when you are finished...

but  

HUGE! 

Haying season is such a critical time. 

To an enormous extent you are at the mercy of the weather.

You must be willing to work around the clock if necessary to 'get it in'.

Having enough feed for your animals for the long winter (8 month's worth) is not an elective.

Sometimes in my 'other life' before I came to the farm, I would be in church meetings and they would say:

"Please pray for the farmers...they need rain".   And I would.

Then it seemed like I would turn around and it would be:

 "Please pray for the farmers...that the rain will stop".  And I would.

But I didn't get it. 

 

Now I do!