Bales and Bales of Hay

In the previous blog post, you all viewed the newly cut hay meadow.  Well, the excitement intensified as the week progressed, because the hay was raked and baled by the time I arrived home from work!  Obviously, 100 degree temperatures speed up the drying process.

Oh, one important fact to note - the hay can not be baled when it is wet.  The hay must dry first.  So, farmers are often peeking ahead at the forecast before they cut the hay.  Farmers often rake (or move and turn) the hay to further speed up the drying time.  The baler wraps the hay so compactly, that wet hay will rot.  Wet hay then can not be fed to the cattle, and the farmer loses food for his livestock as a result.

These bales though, are likely to make any bovine animal smile!  Which is good, because the winter months get kinda long without green grass to eat.