Grinding Hay

Declaring something to be "exciting" is really a matter of opinion and perspective. So in our opinion and from our perspective it was very exciting when the hay grinding contraption drove onto the farmyard on Saturday morning. 

I've always found it funny when a person arrives at the farm to do this type of work. They arrive and the farmers could be anywhere! In the house, the barn, the shed, the other shed, the other barn, out back by the bales, etc. It's always been funny to me how that initial personal contact gets negotiated.

Regardless, the hay grinding man and the farmers found each other while the boys quickly got dressed to go outside and watch. That's the best way to get them out of their jammies on a Saturday morning, no doubt!

The Mighty Giant is an impressive piece of equipment. We watched from a distance while the operator swung the auger out, unfurled the long claw arm and then turned on the loud motor!

The boys' eyes were glittering like it was Christmas morning when the first poofs of chopped hay and dust came flying out of the machine.

The dust got so bad we moved away, then a bit further away, then a bit further and finally ended up on the other side so we were upwind. What a relief!

The operator of the hay grinder controlled his machine with levers and buttons in the small cab where he sat. Otherwise, it required one person driving the tractor to keep a steady source of bails for the machine to "eat". The claw arm grabbed the bale from the ground, lifts it up and then drops it in the round spinning grinder. It spins and disappears - like, pouf! Crazy.

In the end, there was a tall mountain of food for the cattle.

Hmmmm.....yummy...actually, it makes me super thirsty just thinking about eating that.

We kept a close eye on the operation, only getting distracted by frosted leaves and tree trunks.

I thought that maybe I could get them to smile so I'd have a photo for our Christmas card, but nope.

Nothing but silliness from this one.

And Noah wasn't in the mood - he gave me the "are you serious?!" look when I asked them to move closer together and smile again for another photo.

The lasts puffs of straw and dust and suddenly the project was complete! We all headed back inside and the boys gladly gulped down hot warm chocolate to warm up.
And that was the excitement on the farm for Saturday! Unless you count the football, volleyball, baseball, tennis and soccer games that the boys and I played in the afternoon.  Ben was away working his first college basketball game, so we created our own fun with a whirlwind of backyard athletics.