I would have liked to have waited a few more days before I started to cut my hay to let the field dry more. But the clock is ticking. It is almost September and our weather pattern changes. July and August are dry, then by September the rains return with cooler weather. And rain is in the forecast. Also, it is recommended to have at least four weeks between the last cut of alfalfa and a hard freeze. The first freeze is usually mid September and a hard freeze in October. Time is running out for me. So I started to cut my field today.
I should have suspected the day would be rough when I discovered my rear bicycle tire was flat this morning when I planned on going for a morning ride while the dew dried. After I patched the tire my neighbor Jan needed help.
I greased the haybine before using it. When I hit my head on a tree branch the second time while greasing the haybine I got a saw and got rid of the branch. It was from a box elder tree so the cattle were happy to eat its leaves. This wasn't the only time I hit my head today. Later when fixing the haybine I would hit my head. By the end of the day the top of my head was scratched and sore and my blood pressure went through the roof and the cussing started each time I hit my head.
I hadn't planned on doing a second hay cutting so after I finished the first cutting I had parked the haying equipment under trees until I build my machine shed. The equipment was parked close together which caused a problem when I went to move the haybine. I had inches to spare but the haybine wanted to go left and then I didn't have inches to spare. Things got worse before they got better and I finally got the haybine out without damage.
I removed the pocket gopher traps from the hayfield. My shoes only got a little damp so most of the water had evaporated by then. The alfalfa and grass is thick. They are also full of moisture so the cut windrows are heavy for their size. It may take a while for the hay to dry.
The grass/alfalfa is so thick one can't see the pocket gopher dirt mounds. Since this is a new field the pocket gophers had to create all new tunnels. That meant larger than normal dirt mounds. The dirt is still wet. All that together caused problems. A number of times I had to stop and remove the dirt from the haybine as it was preventing a clean cut. After repeated clogs in one spot on the haybine I discovered a rock guard was broken. My guess is a dirt pile broke the rock guard. This was my first time replacing a rock guard so I had a learning curve before I figured out the secret to changing the rock guards.
The rock guard break was at the start of row four. Before I was done with row four I discovered a thin strip of grass/alfalfa not being cut. A sickle blade in the rock guard next to the replaced rock guard was broken off. On the to-do list once the field is cut is to walk row four to find the broken blade before I drive over it. I suspect another dirt mound broke the blade off. And I'm having the haybine cut at a higher space than usual.
It took me three hours to cut four rows. Incredibly slow. Usually I cut my field in eight to ten hours. I had to cut the field waaay slower than I usually do. I estimate I only cut a quarter to a third of the field today. So much for being done in one day. The plan is to put in a long day and finish the cut tomorrow.
Now I understand how my dad could have missed an irrigation pipe in the field and run over it with a haybine. I made sure to double check that I removed all the pipes.
The broken rock guard protects the rightmost two blades. The middle blade was not protected. How I discovered the rock guard was broken was when the grass/alfalfa kept getting caught on and bunching up on the unprotected blade.
A nice looking alfalfa field. My windrows are fairly heavy. I suspect I may not fit all of the bales from this cutting into my hayshed, which will be a hassle.
A turkey was hanging out in one corner. This time around I discovered why. She had baby chicks. They wanted to stay in the tall grass. So I had to go slow, stopping often to let them get away. In the photos you can see the mother; her chicks had followed her back into the tall grass.
After several rounds I couldn't see the turkey. But then the grass moved so I slowed up. Out of the grass ran Daisy at full gallop. She ran from the grass to the yard. She must have been looking for the turkey chicks to play with. After this I no longer saw the turkeys or Daisy in the tall grass.
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