Makin' Hay While the Sun Shines

In case you weren't sure, "Down On The Farm" isn't just the title of my blog, it is our way of life.  My husband is a dying breed, a real-life, full-time farmer.  We raise beef cattle, and in the winter when the grass doesn't growing we feed those cattle hay.  We bale our own hay using our own equipment.  As long-time followers know, my husband is the farmer, not me.  But, once in awhile everybody in our family gets drafted to help and when that happens, my job is raking.  Raking hay involves pulling the rake through the mowed hay to rake it into rows so the baler can come along, scoop up the hay, and make a nice big round bale.

Here is a picture of the rake.  It is a pretty wide piece of equipment, so I took a picture of each side of the rake. 

And this, this is what it looks like from behind as you pull the rake thru the hay, making a "row" of hay for the baler to pick up.

Can I just say one thing???  It is HOT in Missouri in the summertime and raking hay in July is really no fun at all.  The sun is hot, the humidity is unbearable, it's dusty, there's just no way to make it an easy job.  But, this winter when the temperature is WAAAAYYY below freezing, and the snow is flying, our cows will be well fed.  And we will experience a sense of accomplishment that only a farming family feels, knowing that we are taking care of the animals we raise.