Gleaning

Actually I am not sure if gleaning is the correct word for what I've been up to. I think gathering grain was in the original meaning. And there was no grain involved, just hay.

Yesterday at lunchtime our farmer friend rang up and and said he had cut his hay last weekend and was going to bale two fields. He said that the baler did not usually pick up the hay around the edge of the field very well so to come out to the hayfields and bring sacks and rakes. So we did. I was so pleased that it was not a baking hot day!  It turned out the smaller field is a bit overshadowed by the trees and tall hedges and the grass had not grown nearly so tall as in the larger field. The baler works better with longer grass so it had missed bits all over the field. When the hay is turned to dry it after cutting, it is left in little ridges up and down the field, ready for the baler. I raked the hay along these little ridges into mini stacks and my husband stuffed sacks with it. We probably covered about a third of the field and had 17 sacks stuffed as fatly as possible with hay. We just about got them all into the car with one in the footwell with me and the last one on my lap with me compressing it as much as I could so that my husband had a clear view out of the side windows. Good job that he does not mind driving using the wing mirrors and not being able to see through the back window with the rear view mirror.

Needless to say, we slept well last night! And we have enough hay in the shed to keep the hens' nest boxes well filled for the year and to keep the rabbit cosy all next winter.