I will save you the diatribe on why?????? we were putting hay up in February, and just say that due to not getting a second cutting at this little place here last summer, and having a not great yield on first cutting, I had to buy hay. Which is something I've never needed to do since moving to this little place here in 2003. I bought some second cutting in September (off someone else's field) from the farmers who cut and bale my hay for me, but knew I would need to get somewhere in the range of 100-150ish more bales of first cutting (fed year round to the 'easy keeper' horses) to make it through to the 2026 hay crop was available.
Due to several factors, I didn't buy hay in the Fall. Or in December, or in January as I had wanted to. And now, in February I pretty much looked at DH and said "I have to get hay. And I have to have your help putting it up. So, how's this coming weekend look for you?" And then I searched around, found acceptable hay about 15 miles away, went to look at it in person, approved it as something the horses at this little place here would/could eat, and made an appointment to pick it up Sunday after church.
85 bales of hay
Barring some issues with snow and ice--like the elevator being iced up (and subsequently breaking when DH insisted he knew the best way to remove the ice), I have to say a cold February day was probably the best/most comfortable weather we've experienced for putting hay into the loft! Zero humidity! Zero sweat! Zero bugs!
K3 and Toad had been asked if they would like to earn some cash by coming over and helping get the hay stacked in the loft. They both (surprisingly) agreed, and Rascal wanted to come too. Rascal is still too small to be able to lift a hay bale, but we figured why not let him try if he was willing? He did drag a few a short distance, 'helping' DH get them from the trailer and stacked onto a pallet that was then lifted (using the tractor forks) up to where they could be grabbed off from the loft with hay hooks.
DH & Rascal loading hay onto the pallet.
K3, Toad and I were up in the loft, to unload and stack the hay. Mainly K3 unloaded, Toad drug the bales to me and I stacked them.
Toad and K3 in the loft, watching the pallet of hay being lifted, ready to unload it.
(Yes, he's two years younger and now a hair taller than she is.)
Although after a while, K3 would hand them to me, I would drag them and Toad would stack. I was pleasantly surprised by how useful he was (historically he hasn't been much for anything 'hard' physically).
With their help, it didn't take long at all to get all the newly purchased hay stored in the loft.
Will it be enough to get the horses through 4+ more months? I doubt it, I really doubt it (unless the Spring grass comes on early and thick). But at least it's up and done for now. I'll wrangle with DH for putting up another trailer load after a while, when the weather is not so freezing, when he's in a better mood (and hopefully has the hay elevator fixed). On things I can't do by myself--and therefore need his help-- I have to pick my battles and choose the right timing.
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