Make hay while the sun shines

That would be nice, but today it's make hay before the rain hits. I just took this photo of my brothers. David is raking the hay, and Mark is baling it with Sam riding along. It started raining just a few minutes later (enough for them to quit), but now the sun is out! This particular field has already been rained on three times! Oh, the trials of farming. And how did Mark and Sam get the cab tractor?

Hay must be mowed, tedded (spread out to dry), raked into rows, baled, and moved either inside or into rows to cover. This all takes at least two days. It is best if it doesn't get wet during this process to prevent rotting until next winter.

Two weeks ago we had a dry spell, and David baled a large field behind our house. The kids had a great time playing on the bales before they were moved to the barn. That's their good friend Kyleigh along for our adventure. I don't know who enjoys hay bales more, the kids or the cows. I'm just glad we're looking at rounds bales, and not square ones yet:)