Hay, Straw and a Heat Wave...

Jim says that the week that the barley is combined is always the hottest week of the summer, and this year is no exception!

But first, there was hay to unload.  Jim's in the middle of 2nd cutting of hay this week, and with no rain in sight for several days, he was able to get several wagon loads of dry hay.  We pulled a small crew together and they got it unloaded this morning.  Oh boy, was it ever hot! I think the temperatures were close to 100% today.  Yuck.

Just a few short weeks ago, this mow was completely empty, and housed a puppy kennel for the chilly nights (which are but a distant memory)...

We'll see how full this mow gets this summer.  It's not quite at the half way mark yet.  I climbed up the elevator for a different perspective.

The crumbs left in the wagon got shoveled into the hay racks in the meadow, for an evening snack for the cows.  That's the first place they go when they're left out of the barn for the night...and if there's nothing in the racks for them, do we ever hear about it!

Then it was time to head over to the barley field.  Those windrows of straw are what was left behind by the combine...

Jim started baling around lunch time, but the straw was still a little tough, so he stopped and waited a few hours to try again. It was nicer (drier) by then, but still not as nice as he would have liked, so he left the rest lay for another day.

I'm glad today is almost over, and right now, I'm thankful for a shower, clean clothes, and for the cool breeze blowing in the window beside me.

Baling Barley Straw 2016...

Well...now that's done!

After the barley was combined on Monday evening, Jim had the task ahead of baling all that straw.

Here's the field the morning after harvest. The combine left long windrows of straw, which I think make a beautiful picture!

The grain was dry, but the straw still had a little green tint to it and was a little too damp for baling, so just after morning milking, Jim spread out the windrows with a tedder and let the strong breeze and sunshine do it's work...

Just after lunchtime...(oh the drying power of a strong breeze!)...the straw was fit and ready to bale.  He raked it back up into windrows and started filling wagons...

Eric took off work early and came home to help with the unloading, and we were able to round up some other guys as well.  While Jenna and I milked, Jim baled and the guys kept the wagons emptied.

This morning, Jenna and my nephew swept the "crumbs" off the empty wagons back into the field, and Jim finished up baling.  I think the total was just over ten loads.  The barn is full and an Amish neighbor bought part of a load.  (here's an interesting tidbit of information...the Amish don't grow barley or wheat, which is where straw comes from, because it's harvested using combines, which they don't have!)  It makes a great bedding for their horses.

It feels so good to have that job finished!  Now it's time to spread manure on the empty field before planting with soybeans and late corn.

Barley 2014

I think in my last post, I updated at the end, that the barley was being combined that night!  It's been a whirlwind ever since and I'm just now getting around to posting some pictures from over the weekend.

The barley yield was really, really good...just over 100 bushels per acre.  No complaining about that, for sure!

I was on my way on an errand, when I saw the combine in the field, but didn't have my camera along.  So no pics of the combine in action, but here are some from another year if you'd like to see them.  You'll notice the barley looks different in the two posts.  Any ideas why??

I went to the other farm after milking, just in time to catch Jim finishing up with the baler in the first field...

Jim's Dad ran wagons back and forth from the other farm to home...

...where the kids unloaded it above the outside pen.  It'll make nice bedding for heifer pens...

Just as Jim finished up baling, his cousin Wes showed up at the other farm with his dirt bike.  He was on his way home from a day of riding in Delaware, and Jim took a quick spin in the now clean field before heading home...

All the barley straw has now been baled and unloaded.  Today one field was replanted with soybeans, and the second field will be replanted with short season corn this afternoon, as soon as the corn planter gets here.

It must be summer!

Barley Straw 2012...

June is typically when the barley is ready to be harvested, and the straw baled for bedding.  I took this picture last week; the grain is dry...and the heads were beginning to droop on the stalks...

Thursday afternoon the combine came to harvest the barley.  We watched the sky in the west as we finished up milking.  There was a chance of thunderstorms, and the sky got darker...and it got windy...
The combine finished in the slightest of drizzles, and we watched...and waited...as the storm...went around us to the south. 

We are fortunate, and thankful to be spared the storm.  Rain on top of straw makes for a difficult time in getting the straw dry enough to bale.  Wet straw can't be baled and be good for anything. (at least not for what we need it for!)

Jim's baling here, and is about to switch out his full wagon for an empty one...

It was hot yesterday, but there was a nice breeze.  As you can see, the straw was flying as they unloaded all afternoon.  Itchiness...

The wall of straw and fodder in the upstairs of the barn had been nearly depleted.  No longer!  Jim estimates that he baled about 1100 bales of straw yesterday...

We had good helpers, and they had the chance to take breaks between wagon loads.  The dogs stayed nearby, hoping for a dropped crumb as they had some snacks...

After Jim was finished baling, I drove around the field to pick up a few bales that missed the wagon.  Murphy and Snickers tagged along.  Every time I stopped, Murphy hoped I'd let the truck door hanging open so she could hop in for a ride...

Then this morning, Jim blew the straw out of the baler before he put it away...temporarily...

...there's hay to bale on Monday!

The grain yield was excellent this year, and it was sold as a cash crop.  Today, Jim is cleaning out heifer pens and spreading the pen pack on the barley field, and next week, late corn will be planted, giving us a double crop on the barley fields.

And so...summer "vacation" begins!