I got nothing but a ford and a barn full of hay,
If it weren’t for horses…. I’d have a lot more money and a lot less grey.
-Slaid Cleaves
There are an awful lot of quotes about hay.
“Make hay while the sun shines”
“The hay is in the barn”
“Hit the hay”
“Roll in the hay”
“Work and pray, live on hay, you’ll get pie in the sky when you die”
Hay is like a well stocked cubbard. It is security. It is warmth (roll out a hay bale in freezing temps and you’ll be amazed at how it warms your hands). It is something that, in one form or another, farmer’s have been doing for generations. And while Curtis and I try to graze more and need less, there is still a feeling of security in having it. And nothing more satisfying than rolling out a dry bale when the weather is miserable for the calves to lay in.
In the early days it was square bales. Square bales and a flat bed trailer and lots of friends who work for beer!
But now it is a round baler…less physical and more mechanical. Occasionally use the horses to rake when we can manage it.
We just sold that old square baler this year. 20 years plus and it still worked fine. I have to admit I was a little sentimental. Letting go of things we just can’t (or don’t want to) do anymore is hard. But lots of good memories (and pics) of our square baling days!
What’s in the bucket: It’s a race to the finish line for last best! A “hay harvest breeze” (William Johnson Cory) for 4 more weeks. Perhaps more flowers and less veggies? That might be fun…we’ll see. Some suprises in store no doubt.
“….in nineteenth-century Russia, sauerkraut was valued more than caviar.”
All right then, that is great. Because guess what? Yes there is more cabbage! This week either green, savoy or red cabbage. AND squash, cucumbers, lots of onions….red, white, and…basil, a few carrots, a potato….just one. For the german kraut in case you are adventurous.
Recipe this week: you guessed it, sauerkraut from Farmer John’s cookbook, and one for Uncle Lamar’s pickles out of our Good Grazing cookbook released in 2008. Both tried and true in the Circle S Kitchen many times!
Happy Eating! Happy Hay Harvest Breeze! and Thanks for buying local food from
Circle S Farm!