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This week has been all about putting up our first hay crop.
 Initially, things were going smoothly, but the past few days have been plagued by thunderstorms, hindering our progress in baling the hay.
 Nevertheless, we still have make sure Meals get sent out to the hardworking hay crew! (Just because there's rain doesn't make less work to do...)
 Let me give you a glimpse of the hay-making excitement in Monteview...
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1st
 My husband diligently monitors the pivots until the grass and alfalfa are just perfect.
  He keeps a close eye on the weather and makes the crucial decision to fire up the swathers and begin cutting.
  Then, it's a frenzy on the farm for the next three weeks as we all scramble to keep up with everything that comes after!!
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2nd
 We start raking as soon as the hay is halfway dry.
  We put 2 rows of hay together to reduce the amount of driving required for the baling tractor
(which also saves on fuel).
 Raking starts bright and early at around 5:30am in the MORNING!!🥱
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  Once that's started...
3rdÂ
  We add in baling!
 We usually begin this process about ten days after cutting the hay, then we take the Baling tractors out around 9:00pm (in the evening), just as the dew starts to settle.
 We bale like mad until the dew becomes too heavy,(the hay is to wet) and then we pause and finish up the following night.
  We do it this way because, there has to be just enough moisture in the hay to keep the leaves on the hay from falling to the ground and losing all that nutrients.
 And if it's too wet, the hay bales can actually start on fire later in the year, because of the pressure that packs them so tight!!
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4th
The morning after baling, the stacking crew springs into action as soon as they can (usually after they finish raking).
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 They load the hay onto big semi trucks with a loader, and stack the hefty 2000-pound bales under the hay shed.
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  Now, here's the funny (sometimes not so funny) thing—most of the different crews consist of the same people!
One year we had a 17-year-old boy, who was determined to prove himself, He took on all the crews!
 He set a record, with only three hours of sleep in five days!
 I told him he was crazy, but he was proud of his achievement! 😅 So I guess you won't die from getting very little sleep,
   I wouldn't want to find out if you could actually Die from NO Sleep At All😬!! (It's my understanding that the human body can only handle no sleep for so long before it starts shutting down)
 This years, progress has been slower due to the untimely rain we've been getting.
  It's stretched things out a bit longer, which is not ideal since the hay quality goes down the longer it stays on the Ground...
  Then in 2 months we start all over again with 2nd crop of hay!!😃 (Gotta Love the Life of A Farmer)
 Speaking of The Ground, it reminds me that I have about 100 pounds of Ground Goat Meat available for a special price of just $11.30 per pound!
(Don't forget, this is also the last week to grab those free gifts too!!)
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