It's been a busy week here on the farm. We are well into our third cutting of alfalfa. If the weather stays decent we will have five cuttings from some fields before winter.
Each field is cut four weeks apart unless the weather or potatoe leaf hoppers (bugs) affects the growth or it's too wet to get into the field. The hay has been really good this year because of great weather. If the four week thing stays in tact, that usually gives us a two week break in between the next go round.
In those two weeks we try to catch up on things that have slipped a bit due to the long hours making hay and we even try to get a fun day in between that.
Yesterday, we mowed, merged and chopped around 50 acres bringing the total of 3rd cutting to 262 acres finished. We have around 46 more acres of our land to do and have the ability to purchase another 70 acre field from another farmer.
Everything was going on without a hitch until . . . Daughter-in-law #2 spent several hours driving the merger. Merging basically means #1 swath of cut alfala is picked up and place on swath #2. Then swath #3 is picked up and placed on swath #2. We combine three swaths into one to create less trips across the field for the chopper.
She was done and on her way home on the road about one mile from the farm when the hitch happened. She heard an awful loud noise and started swerving around on the road. She immediately throttled down and came to a stop. The two wheels on the right side of the merger snapped at the axle. So instead of rolling along the axle was digging in the dirt and the wheels were laying on their backs enjoying the sunshine.
Daughter-in-law #2 - I told you I had beautiful Daughters-in-law!
Son #2 was out chopping so Farmer had to be the go to guy. So, being the resourceful Farmer he is, Farmer had to figure out how to get her home.
He got the telehandler (a loader type tractor with an extendable boom) which had forks attached. He grabbed two straps, looped them on the merger and lifted that side off the road to carry it back to the barn. It was slow going, because the tractor and merger had to travel at the same rate of speed, but they made it.
The one good thing is all the hay that was down got finished and they have one day to figure out how to fix the axle which "ain't gonna be easy" as far as Son #2 says.
At Sunday dinner the talk was all about making hay and all the "stupid" things everyone has done while making hay. For instance, more than one person has taken an empty wagon out to the field to switch with a full one. Well, either being too busy, on the phone, or just plain exhausted, an empty wagon has been dumped off and another empty wagon has been hooked up leaving the full one in the field. Imagine the surprise and frustration when they finally realize they got the wrong wagon.
Son #3 was pulling a full wagon home and as he went around the corner the pin broke and the wagon ended up in the neighbors yard. He didn't realize it until a minute later. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Several years ago that happened to my nephew. The pin broke while going down the road on a hill, the wagon picked up speed and nicked the back tractor tire, veered off across the other lane and down the hill on the other side overturning in a field. Thankfully, once again, no one was hurt.
When the wagons are unhitched you need to make sure the wagon is on flat ground so it doesn't roll. Well, that doesn't always happen. Son #2 tells how he saved the day. Several years ago a wagon was let go and it started to roll backwards, down the road, and was picking up speed! He whipped the big ol chopper around, rammed it in reversed, throttled it up and in one fell heroic swoop was able to slam into the automatic hitch and hook it to the chopper saving the day and all without leaving his cushioned, air conditioned, radio playing seat.
