Schoonover Farm Blog

I am tired, sore and slow today.  But I was able to do a few things.  I was able to admire the sweet peas.

I was able to photograph the hay in the hay loft.

And I was able to string colorful yarns over the area that the older “chicks” live to try to prevent more eagle carnage.  I threw synthetic balls of yarn out of the middle window of the hay loft down to the chick area and then string them to the surrounding hog panels.

This is the side view.  I also added another hog panel to where these “chicks” were sneaking through to get to the pasture.  My hope is that they will tend to stay in their pen, and the yarns will discourage the eagles from eating them.

One was killed while we were gone, and per the farm sitter it did look like an eagle attack.  Another went completely missing last night.  We have 8 of these older “chicks” left.

We still have 12 in a pen in the barn.  My hope is that this system will work, and in a few days I can release those “chicks” into this area as well.

In the past, we housed pheasants and ducks in this pen with netting over the top (which the tall poles supported), but whenever it snowed heavily the netting would be destroyed.  The hope is that this will be effective and possibly more long lasting.  We shall see.  I thought the colors were interesting anyway, and a good use of my unwanted stash.

PS I also was able to mail a sold wool fleece off and shuck and freeze our peas.  I also finished The Grouchy Historian by Ed Asner.  It was an interesting book about the U.S. Constitution.  I liked it.

So we had 8 tons of hay show up this afternoon.  Tom had to scramble to get ready.  I had just finished a shift at the hospital at 8:30 AM so tried unsuccessfully to take a nap before the hay arrived.  We tried to get help as well.  Here is the first 4 tons that are going to go in the hay loft.

And here are the 4 tons that are going into the hay barn.  You can see the deep ruts the trailer made as our ground is still not totally dried out.

Here is Tom getting the hay elevator positioned in the hay barn.

These are my essential putting up hay supplies.

So Tom and I did the first 4 tons ourselves.  I loaded the ~85# bales onto the hay elevator, and Tom stacked them in the barn.  Thankfully, for once, it was not too hot, but it was muggy.

Here is the 4 tons in the hay barn.

At this point Tom’s son arrived after his day of work to help us out.  This is Tom moving the hay elevator to the hay loft in our animal barn.

Steve was watching us intently.

I managed not to get any photos of us putting up the next 4 tons in the hay loft.  I womanhandled almost every bale, loading them onto the now seriously inclined hay elevator, and Tom and Thomas arranged them in the loft.  It was all a lot of hard work, and the bales felt much heavier as the day wore on.  Thomas’ friend was supposed to help us too after he got off of work, but he arrived just as we finished.  I am impressed that I was able to do this, but I am sure I will be paying a heavy price.

In the past we would put up between 16 and 20 tons of hay in a day.  We are trying to downsize.  Last year we purchased 10 tons plus three other smaller amounts and had ~1 ton left over. We will be butchering another cow in October, and our old flock is dwindling.  We are hoping to be able to make some hay ourselves to get through the winter.  But if that doesn’t work out, we will need to be buying some more.

Tomorrow I will get photos of the hay in the loft.  It is such a pretty sight!