Baling Hay

Oh, my goodness.......it has taken forever for these photos to load, but here is the chronicle of yesterday's hay baling:

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We use Pro-Quality Hay Baskets, manufactured in St. Cloud, MN. I'm thinking we've had these for over 15 years, probably going on 20. The bales are pushed out of the baler, upwards and then fall down into the basket. It allows baling to be done with less laborers.......no one is needed to stack the bales on a wagon as they come out of the baler. It would conceivably be possible for one person to bale hay, with these baskets around.......but, who would want to.

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A tractor driver is needed, obviously, and usually that's me! Its a fun job, although yesterday's heat and humidity added NO pleasantness to the task. This photo was taken looking out the back window of the tractor.......I must watch that direction continually to make sure the baler is working properly and that the ascending bales have strings that are TIED......otherwise, the hay will scatter loosely in the basket, making for a grumpy husband. So I try to be a good girl and faithfully watch........acquiring a sore neck by the end of the day.

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Next we see an amazing sight........Husband coming as close to sewing as he ever will! He's inserting a full spool of twine into the baler. The spools are called "bales"......go figure! The twine is made from "sisal", a plant fiber product from Mexico. Each bale of hay is held together by two lengths of twine, which must be knotted to hold the bale together. Beyond Husband's hands in the photo is the knotting apparatus, which is a tad bit similar to a large sewing machine needle and thread. When something goes wrong in the knotting mechanism.......don't come running to me!! That thing is really complicated!

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The hay bales are dumped out of the baskets near the elevator which will carry them up into the haymow of the barn. Someone has to do that........pick up each 60 to 70-pound bale and set it on the elevator. Yesterday, Husband did it, while our son and two of his friends stacked the bales in the hot, hot haymow.

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Once in a while, I'm allowed the privilege of handling a bale.......when one tumbles off the top of a full basket out in the field. Then I stop the tractor and roll the bale across the ground (I don't carry bales that weigh 60 to 70 pounds......my back thanks me for that.) and place it under the basket as shown. If very many bales fall off, then I don't stop for them........the guys will gather them up with the pickup later on.

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Here is poor old Husband loading bales onto the elevator. He's having back trouble this week, too.......he wrenched something in his back a few days ago while carrying a gigantic newborn calf.......very untimely, with baling on tap. But, he never gives up.......he loads bales, sore back and all! Just watching him wears me out. Honestly, I've never met anyone who possesses the work capacity units that he does!!

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Here's the dashboard in the tractor cab. I'm supposed to keep the throttle at around 540 rpm's to run the "power-take-off" which brings to life all the various parts of the baler. Whoever invented PTO's.........that was ingenious!!

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At one point during the afternoon, I happened to look up and saw this schoolbus being towed on the highway nearby. Can't you just hear the reverberating summertime cheers of schoolkids everywhere at the sight of a disabled schoolbus!!

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Just more tractor cab stuff.......the yellow-handled lever turns the PTO on and off. Below it are the brakes, one for each rear tractor wheel. The black-knobbed levers are for shifting gears. Today I drove in 3rd.......or 2nd, when it was necessary to slow down for thicker hay rows, to prevent the baler from plugging up.......and I hate when that happens! You have to don your gloves and tediously pull out all the tightly clogged hay from around the baler shaft. Its very annoying, and thus best to avoid if possible, although it did happen three times today.

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Well, now that the big day of baling is done, this is the absolute truth......I am beat......dead tired, with a sore neck, too. The moon is rising and brightly glowing, but I'm about to fall into my comfortable bed for a pleasant sleep, thank you!

One last thing, though........consider yourself MOONED........by Jeannelle the Tired!!!

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