Start of hay cutting

Today I started cutting my hayfield.  It appears the rain has stopped for now with only a slight chance one day this week.  I waited since the last rain earlier this week for the field to dry out, and it appears it has.

First I had to put my harrow into the NE pasture where I will later take it apart and put it completely away for the year.  Before I did, I drug it around the corral and extended corral to smooth them out since the cattle was last there.

I got start with my hay cutting after 3 pm.  This time I started the hay cut driving the tractor in the lowest gear.  Usually I try driving in a higher gear but often that doesn't work well for the first hay cut.  And since I fertilized the hayfield this year, and with all the recent rain, the grass has really grown tall.  

Last year I had to drive in the lowest gear and stop on occasion so the haybine didn't get clogged up.  I expected the same this year.  Surprisingly, it did not happen.   Only once did the haybine get grass clogged up.  My first circle around the hayfield was in the lowest gear.  On the second and later go-arounds I was able to drive in a gear one step faster.  I don't know why.  The grass is tall and thick.  I did replace, at the end of last year, about a third of the haybine's teeth with sharper teeth.  And while I - and others - usually wait until the alfalfa starts to flower before cutting, this year I did not.  None of the alfalfa is flowering.    That may be because of our cold Spring the alfalfa is behind schedule. Maybe the alfalfa and grass behind schedule has not hardened/thickened/firm up and matured yet.  So they are easier to cut.  At any rate I am happy I can go a little faster than the slowest gear.

Tall hayfield

I try to cut as close as possible to the outside fences.  This time I had to spend much more time watching and moving as it seemed as if the haybine wanted to go towards the fence.  A couple of times I had to stop and back up so as not to hit the fence.

Later in the day you can see stuff on the haybine.   Due to all the recent moisture it was not dusty outside.  But I got this dusty stuff.  I think it is seeds and pollen as most of the hayfield grass has gone to seed.   The pollen part was very annoying.  I had to leave the tractor windows open as the windows got coated with this 'dust' and it got hard to see outside the windows, and I didn't want to stop every 15 minutes or so to clean the windows.  Having the windows open was a problem as the pollen made me sneeze a lot.  My nose got stuffy and my eyes itchy.  This pollen dust was the hardest thing to handle today.  Normally pollen doesn't bother me.  But this was too much.

Also the noise was loud.  Years ago Donna had given me earmuff headphones.  After a couple go-arounds I went and got them and wore them for the rest of the day.   By the end of the day my head was getting tired due to their weight.

Early on I saw this turkey walking.  The grass is so thick I doubt the turkey could walk in it.  At the end of this row the turkey then turned left and left the hayfield and walked across the road to my neighbor's

It appears I got half the hayfield cut today.  I should get the rest cut tomorrow.