Cutting hay

Yesterday afternoon I started cutting my hayfield.  I would have cut weeks ago but our rainy June stopped that.  I had planned on starting to cut on Friday, but after I did some yard mowing around noon I noticed the thick grass was still kind of wet near the ground and it was causing problems for my lawn mower.  I figured my tall and thick hayfield was also wet down low so I waited one day for a little extra drying time.

I usually can cut the field a day and one third.  I figured this year it could maybe take up to two days.  Wrong.  The hay is so tall and thick my haybine can barely cut it.  I have to drive my tractor in the slowest speed, and even then I had to sometimes stop moving and just let the haybine get the hay through.

I have spent two full days cutting my hay, and it looks like I have one more day left before I am done.  I am going to have lots of hay this year.  I guess I shouldn't complain at how hard and long it is to cut the hay this year.

The grass is so tall that along some of the barb wire fences I had trouble seeing the fence and had to be extra careful I didn't get the haybine to close too the fence and ruin one or both of the the things.

Of course after I started cutting the hay the weather forecast changed.  Now there is a good chance of rain on Tuesday, just after I cut my hay.  Then maybe on Friday.  It seems as if it is hard right now to get more than a three day period of no rain.  I hope it doesn't rain Tuesday.  My windrows are so tall and wide that if the hay needs to raked and turned over I'm not sure how or where I can do that.

A 29 second video of my haybine cutting hay: https://youtu.be/D-PCEOgnM8w