I called Dick, my hay man, at 7 yesterday morning to see if I could come by a day early to pick up my usual nine bales since it is supposed to start snowing here today. Best to catch Dick early because he and the boys work long hard hours stacking and delivering hay, especially with bad weather on the way. “Come now.” He can be blunt. I only had one cup of coffee in me, but I leaped into my trusty old Landcruiser and headed out. Coming up on 300,000 miles on that beast of a car.
This ritual of buying hay on Sundays has been going on for
ten years now. I don’t have space for
more than about thirty bales here, and I’ve tried storing more hay in a
friend’s barn but it got dusty and moldy so I’ve just decided to go visit Dick
each week on Sunday. Nine to twelve, his big barn is open for business. It’s what I do instead of going to
church. I see many of the same customers
and enjoy chatting with them. Some bring their dogs, so I always have biscuits
to hand out. I am friends with the guys
who work for Dick, catching up on what’s happening in their lives. Andrew
recently got married and bought a farmhouse that he’s restoring. Dick’s
grandsons also help out. There’s a reassuring camaraderie that makes me feel
like my life is on track as we load up my car together each week.
I admit that I’m very fussy about hay. My horses have taught me to know what the
good stuff looks like, and since I’m only buying nine bales, I prefer a mix of
grass hay, clover and a little alfalfa.
Some weeks, I just have to take what they’ve got, unless I can get one
of the boys to go into the big barn with me and pick through some of the leftovers
from earlier loads. I try to feed the
girls from a couple of bales at a time, sometimes using the not so great stuff
late at night so when it’s really cold and dark, they will eat whatever didn’t
look that good at dinnertime. Last week,
the selection was pretty slim because some of the bales were full of sticks and
really dusty. Silk and Siete let me know
what they thought by pooping on it, even though the temperatures were around 5
to 10 degrees and they normally would have stoked the furnaces in their bellies
with just about anything. As I approached
the farm yesterday, I was hoping for some decent hay to make everyone happy
when it starts to snow again.
The gods were smiling on us. Nice green, soft hay with
clover and alfalfa, just about perfect.
“It’s from the Postmistress!” Andrew shouted down to me from on top of a
truck full of bales. I love the
Postmistress’ hay. She takes great pride
in coming up with the perfect blend, and it keeps well all winter. The Postmistress is from someplace just west
of Albany, and she doesn’t make much hay, but I really appreciate that she
takes the time and effort to do it right.
Watching Silk happily devouring a flake this morning, I considered how it’s like a well-constructed chain. The Postmistress cares, so she produces something she can be proud of. I care, so I attempt to get the best hay that I can for my girls. And the horses appreciate the effort, remaining content and calm even though they are spending so much time confined in a smaller space when they would like to run around the way they do when there’s not two feet of snow on the ground. It’s not that hard to care, and I wish that more people would remember how good it feels when you do.
7 comments:
Fortunately, our barn loft can hold a couple thousand bales of hay and I try to buy a year's worth all at once. My preference (and the horse's) is 2nd cutting grass. They will eat the first cutting, but it's not nearly as soft and green. Fortunately we seldom see a dusty bale and if we do, it gets dumped. Nothing wrong with being particular. Your girls are lucky to have you looking out for them.
Lori - your barn is paradise! I can only dream….
We store our hay in one bay of the garage on pallets and get enough to last the winter. Our horses prefer second cutting too. They can be quite opinionated!
It's nice that you have the camaraderie each week with your hay men and the customers there. I'm glad the postmistress's hay was available this time. Can't wait for more snow and freezing temps again. But at least Silk and Siete will be happy and snug in their barn with their preferred hay.
Arlene - Your barn is also on my list of "best ever" and I'm sure that your horses get delicious second cutting. I would like to be able to store enough to last the winter, but I've come to really enjoy my hay buddies. And Silk and Siete aren't complaining about anything tonight.
Wow, I love how thoughtful you are. I used to manage a barn and had a lot of control over hay quality. Now I'm a boarder and I feel a little disconnected from the whole fueling process!
I'm also lucky, because we can not only store hay for whole winter, but also make it from our own fields. Did you have a chance to look at my blog yet? http://tunturimuija.blogspot.fi/
Hello Anu - I just visited your blog and I hope that all my friends reading this will also check it out. You are a true adventurer! Can't wait to read more about your life.
go to: http://tunturimuija.blogspot.fi/
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