Cutting my weed field

On a Thursday morning I had verification from a Ag extension agent that the pennycress weed is bad for livestock.  By Thursday afternoon I was cutting my field.  It didn't matter that the weather forecast for Friday and Saturday had rain.  Who cares if the cut weeds get wet?

I cut for a few hours Friday morning while the dark rain clouds approached from the west.  I imagine the people driving by thought I was crazy.  Later a few people Donna knows who live down the road commented to her about this.   They didn't say I was crazy for doing this.... that I know of.

It rained and rained the rest of Friday into Saturday.  I didn't start cutting again until Sunday afternoon and finally finished cutting on Monday afternoon.

Looking south.  The dark rain clouds approaching were from the west.

My tractor fits under the power line towers.   I had disced and planted under one tower.  Then the weeds grew.  I had never tried to go under the tower when cutting hay as the offset haybine/tractor width was larger.  But the weeds were thick.    I made it with an inch to spare.  But the inch and the cockeyed tower angle meant I was very close to rubbing on the tractor cab as I exited the tower.  By the time I stopped to reposition I had rubbed the one inch bump where the radio antennae comes out of the top side of the cab. I still get radio reception but I have a hole in the top layer of my roof. My neighbor Curtis said we can fix/seal this.  We use a fiberglass tub repair kit.  Another item on my to-do list.  A self inflicted item.


Look what my cutting turned up!   A turnip.   Ten or more years ago when I had a garden, one year I grew turnips.   I tossed garden waste, and most biodegradable food items out in my hayfield.   I guess turnips seeds can last ten or more years before growing.

Wednesday I was going to get the baler ready and maybe even bale a few rows of weed hay before going over to Joyce's house for a July 4th meal celebration.  First I wanted to put the haybine up in "transport mode".  But the hydraulics wouldn't get the haybine up the last 80% to lock the haybine in place.  I checked the tractor's hydraulic oil level.  I needed to add some hydraulic oil.  I did, but the haybine still wouldn't go the last 20%.   Curtis thought I may have gotten air in my hydraulic oil lines from the low level.   Slowly work it up and down repeatedly and the air will be pressed out.

Thursday I tried some more.  Still couldn't get the last 20%.  I read up on this on the internet and watched YouTube videos.  Nothing more than what I was doing.   The tractor has four hydraulic hookups.  I tried the other two.   Now the haybine would only raise/lower 20%.   I went back to the original two hookups.  I was stuck at only 20%.   What is going on?!

I talked with my neighbor Wyatt.  He suspected I hooked up the hydraulic hoses wrong. "But why would it work for 80%?"    He came over and looked.   Yup.  I hooked up the hoses wrong.  What a moron I am!   Still no idea why the hydraulics worked for 80%.

For the baler's four hydraulic hoses, last year I had painted the four hoses and four hookups four colors to prevent mixups.   Now I painted the haybine's two hoses two colors to match the correct tractor hookups.

So Thursday afternoon - a week after I started to cut my field - I could finally start to bale my weed hay.


The sad saga continues...