Sometime soon we will feel the breath of fall…right now we are hotter than hot with 100 degree days but soon it will begin to change…I can’t describe it exactly but around mid August…you feel it, nature clicks and the season begins to change, the light changes as well as the air.
Remember last year going with us to the hay-field the end of September…this year it is was last weekend.
We were pulling the trailer along as they loaded the hay right out of the field which means it is nice and fresh:)
The tractor has a front end loader on it so it pick can pick up 1-4 bales at once…if you are a seasoned tractor driver you are good at loading each bale with precise perfection! It is an art as it is very important how you stack it on a trailer that will be traveling down the road.
Wild Bill is getting the ropes out to begin securing the hay to the trailer as we have about 80 miles to go home…with big hills and many corners.
Here he comes with one of the last bales to load.
Touchdown!
We live up over the hills in the background…not that far to fly but driving it takes a couple of hours.
Wild Bill is checking his ropes and the load before we get on the highway.
We have a little over 6 tons with this load. Our barn here actually holds 100 ton and when we ran the cattle it was always full…now with just my horses we usually buy 15-20 tons a year. I always buy plenty so we will not run out in the middle of winter! Back when we wintered the cattle on the winter ranch, about 100 miles from here, we fed over 300 tons of hay…now that was a huge stack!!!
“Like A Rock!” Seriously this Chevy Pick Up Rocks with the Duramax…talk about power! It pulls a fully loaded four-horse trailer up big hills, mountain hills quick and will pick up speed as she climbs! Of course Wild Bill being Wild Bill had to put in a chip last winter for the heck of it and now the pick up launches off into space fully loaded! I do have one of those Oh S*** handles too!
And then…we were only about a half hour from home…bang!
Uhhh…Houston, we have a problem!
We are smiling…wow…not normal at all…but
My sister came to help us and so did Ry-Man:) We were on a slope, right where you can not pull off the highway either…hassle. Yes we have a floor jack under the trailer…the man killer jack is only for extra precaution.
And my sister always brings her camera and wants a photo op…so yah…I was trying to hide as we were to pose for the ding-dong camera person:)
We made it home…all is well on the Western Front…and Kiah was pooped:)
My ponies are happy…as they love their grass hay.
It is 101 degrees right now outside…we are inside staying cool…hope you all have a great night wherever you are:)
Hot Rod Cowgirl 
Aug 12, 2012 @ 16:09:17
Love your post and all the fab photos of hay low sugar orchard is coming next week. I don’t want the warmth to end but all seasons come to the end. I enjoy your blog!
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Aug 12, 2012 @ 16:20:12
Thank you:) I look forward to your blog too:) I do love each season…our summer was short this year.
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Aug 11, 2012 @ 20:40:40
wow that is a lot of delicious looking hay – well to a horse it is delicious anyway!! 😉
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Aug 12, 2012 @ 11:08:07
Yeah I know…to our horses it is like a big hershey bar:)
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Aug 09, 2012 @ 11:25:55
What a great post, and thanks for sharing your hay-gathering journey, flat tire and all! I can tell fall is coming, too…I was noticing it in the way the light was shining in the window in the morning. I love fall. Love it! Now, tonight, I get to look forward to signing my first horse lease! Wish me luck! I can’t wait to have a horse of my own to ride!! XOXO-SWM
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Aug 09, 2012 @ 13:30:56
Oh I am so excited for you:) Tonight will be a very special night in getting your horse and signing the lease etc. Truly our horses are so smart and love us very much…they are human in how they develop relationship to us. I will look forward to hearing more about your rides etc. :):):)
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Aug 09, 2012 @ 07:26:46
Oh my, just look at all that beautiful hay! I can’t even imagine what it’s like to have a full barn of clean quality hay. I bought 6 bales of bermuda yesterday, stemy, dry, and dried out… $150. Shameful.
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Aug 09, 2012 @ 09:07:07
Oh that is awful!!!! Good grass hay here is $9 per bale…same as last year…and $200 a ton. My gosh $150 for 6 bales….wow….that is so not fair…I worry about people letting animals go which is worse unless they can find them a good home first….is it the drought then or something else? Wish I could send you some:)
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Aug 09, 2012 @ 10:52:34
Drought is a factor, but who knows. Horse market is sad. worse, people can’t afford to feed their horses and we both know where that leads. I sold all my horses but my pony and donkey – that I can afford.
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Aug 09, 2012 @ 13:34:43
Yes I know and I worry all the time for those horses that depend on their human…and the human does not have money to feed them….in our county here they set up a horse shelter where homeless horses can live and be cared for until they are adopted out…it kills me when I see a horse starving or abused or alone…horses have such big hearts for us. I am sure you miss your horses…if I had to pay the money you do for hay I would have to sell mine too. Makes me sad…I am glad you still have your pony and donkey:)
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 21:36:26
Yes, sign of Fall is popping up now in the Nature. For example the Rowans are getting red!
I long back to the time with Haymaking! We did it with an Ardenner horse!!!!
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 21:40:55
They are such majestic horses…that would have been so fun and what awesome memories to have:) You will have to see if you can find pictures that you can share:) While I do love Fall…I will miss Summer…this year our summer was short as June was cold and July was both cold and then it went to 100 degrees…each season has so much to offer:)
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 15:30:46
I love this time of year when you have the first inklings of fall. For us it’s usually a little nip in the air at night. The smell changes a bit. Its my favorite time of year.
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 20:59:16
I love each season but yes fall is a favorite time of year with the colors, the light and the air…I do get tired of the cold and wind here so summer is always welcome too…until it gets too hot and dry….then ok we need fall:)
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 10:17:44
I would imagine hay is costlier than last year? With our drought in the midwest, folks are going to be paying a premium for prime prarrie hay for cattle/horse feed. My husband used to truck over the road, and at one point, pulled for a hay company. He hauled squares, and big rounds to feed lots, horse ranches, etc. Once, we hauled a cat that had climbed on top the load… that was one scaredy cat when we got to our destination!
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 20:57:15
My hay this year here is the same price as last year…not cheap for good grass hay…it is currently $9 per bale or $200 a ton…I do remember the good old days of $35 a ton for good alfalfa…grass hay here beat alfalfa in price the last few years. I bet that kitty was a scared kitty! It is amazing how they do that and hide in such a way you don’t see them. We drove 200 miles one time and had no idea that our son’s kitty Morris had hitched a ride…we were staying at this isolated house in the boonies for a few days and the second night we were there we heard this cat meowing….we called here kitty kitty and here comes this yellow cat making a meow that sounded like Morris…and gosh darn it was Morris!!! We were amazed he made it all that way with us without jumping off:) He was a much loved kitty so he rode home in better style to a very relieved son:) I bet your hubby saw some pretty country and went to some fun places:)
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 07:18:18
Glad it’s going well.
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 08:05:57
Thank you:) Getting the hay into the barn is always such a relief:)
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 06:24:11
Such wide, open spaces! Kiah looks adorable 🙂
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 08:05:19
Kiah is a sweetheart and a ball of energy…she loves to play:)
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 11:26:54
And with all that beautiful greenery around, who wouldn’t?
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 20:57:29
🙂
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 03:46:12
Can’t wait for Fall – it’s been “hotter than hot” here too…..will be nice to feel that crisp air and see the beautiful leaf colors again. Sounds like a LOT of hay taken in there on the ranch – YAY!
Kitty Hugs, Sammy (and his Mom too)
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 08:02:10
Hi Sammy:) Yes the hotter 100 degree temps are too hot to enjoy! I will miss summer though and the actual nice days of 75 degrees and beautiful summer evenings:) Kitty hugs, Minnie and (her Mom too)
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Aug 07, 2012 @ 23:58:29
What lovely photos and a wonderful blog… this one I’ll enjoy following…
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 07:59:03
Thank you so much:)
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Aug 07, 2012 @ 23:05:09
Beautiful post, I can almost smell that hay! I know what you mean about fall coming, although I’m kinda sorta trying to deny it….
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Aug 08, 2012 @ 07:58:41
Thank you:) I always feel better once we have the hay for the winter loaded into the barn. I am trying to deny fall is coming too…summer went too quickly and while I love fall I will miss summer’s warm days and incredibly beautiful evenings.
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