Thursday 9 August 2012

Haymaking.

You would hardly believe we are in the same country as we were at the weekend, when the surrounding villages were all flooded and the rain fell in buckets from morning until night. This week it is hot and sunny with just the kind of breeze which (hopefully) dries the cut grass enough to make hay rather than haylage or silage.

The farmer has cut the grass and has shaken it up several times in an effort to dry it as quickly as possible and keep it brittle andd dry rather than soft. When he went this afternoon to shake it up again a whirlwind went in front of him into the field, lifted a lot of the grass up and transported it almost into the next field. If this sharp weather holds there could be some hay before the weather begins to break up over the weekend. If the clouds form more quickly than expected then it will quickly be baled and wrapped and will become haylage or silage depending how dry it is.

I have had the piano tuner today so I had to stay in until he had been and gone, and then I had to go down to our feed merchants in Masham, ten miles away, to collect hen food, cat and dog food and wild bird food. As the farm pays this bill and there was a smart new dog bed near to the counter where I booked all the stuff out, Tess now now has a smart new bed. She sniffed all round it and then went and sat in it to claim possession.

Before he went off this morning (while the dew was going off the grass) the farmer picked a bucket full of peas, our first produce from the garden other than soft fruit and salad greens. I podded enough for tea tonight and they were delicious. But is there a task more boring than shelling peas other than watching paint dry?

12 comments:

Heather said...

If I was shelling your peas there might not be enough for dinner! Fresh raw garden peas are so irresistible.
With the vagaries of our climate to contend with it must be a boon to be able to make hay or silage.
I can picture Tess curled up in her nice new bed. Night night Tess.

Crafty Green Poet said...

I used to really enjoy shelling peas! I love the smell (and the taste of the totally fresh peas!).

We're finally getting some sunny weather too!

Hope your hay harvest is good! And that Tess enjoys her new bed!

MorningAJ said...

I LIKE shelling peas! It's incredibly relaxing.

John Going Gently said...

on my way to pick up the strimmer.. I have got stuck behind no less than 7 hay making tractors.....

everyone HAS the same idea!

Dartford Warbler said...

Haymaking at last!
I do hope you get all the hay you need for the winter months.

You are lucky to have peas to shell. Two plantings of ours rotted away in the rain so we are relying on My Birds Eye again.....The runner beans and broad beans are doing well though.

angryparsnip said...

The air must smell lovely !
A photos please of Tess and her smart new bed !

cheers, parsnip

Joanne Noragon said...

Shelling peas on the side porch. My mother, my grandmother, my great grandmother. Listening to them talk while they worked and watched me. Falling asleep and waking up in a bed.

Cloudia said...

Shelling & telling- My appetite is swelling!



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MorningAJ said...

Re your comment on my blog.... I had already noticed that the stems are slightly thicker on the corn. It'll make for some stubbier dollies.

I might just have to grow some of my own with longer stems (one of the old species) but it'll take all the fun out of looking for stems in the headland (so I don't take part of the crop when I go gathering.)

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

Shelling peas is only boring if you have to do it alone, I think. If even two people do it together and talk the whole time, it can be quite other than boring! So glad your weather is good for making hay!

The Weaver of Grass said...

One lot of bales completed - another lot to be done tomorrow if the weather holds and it looks set to do so. Thank you for visiting.

ArcticFox said...

shelling peas while watching the telly..... and then eating them all makes the task much more bearable!!

As for anything more boring.... have you viewed my bowling cam?