Farmers are known for it...making something from nothing, finding a new way to do a thing, or getting by without buying. These photos show a tandem hay rake setup the boss built many moons ago.
It is beyond simple, but it does most of the same jobs an expensive commercial model could. Of course there are no hydraulics involved, but that is generally a good thing from my point of view. He got the idea from a couple of older farmers he knew, modified it a bit to suit his circumstances. we still use it, at least twenty years later.
Many a windrow has been rolled into another one to save trips over the field and thus time and fuel with me or one of the guys at the wheel.
Raking hay was probably my favorite job back when I drove tractor every day. It is undemanding enough to allow the mind to wander.....but not so much so that you fall asleep counting Barn Swallows. Still I was grateful to have the dual rakes and for the time they saved us.
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I loved raking hay...baling I had to pay way too much attention....summer fallowing was another "thinking" tractor job I liked too.
Wish there were more words to frame all your posts. If you're tired of "informative," "funny," " beautiful," "lovely," "nostalgically poignant," . . . . well, they really do draw the heart's compass point toward understanding a life lived fully and in full awareness.
I used to love raking hay as a teenager, too. These days, we have it all done by a contractor's rake/tedder with massive folding arms in a fraction of the time. Great for getting the hay in before rain but less time spent to mull things over quietly.
Something about raking...I love it too, and especially borrowing our friend's tandem rake that was home built too. Ii dragged the first pasture yesterday, and it is about the same, your mind can wander a bit, but not too much if you want a decent looking job.
Linda, it's a good thing I liked it because a lot of it fell to me. Not very glamorous and relatively easy. Then I learned to run the forage chopper. Big mistake. lol
Cathy, your kind words never grow old and always make me feel great, so thank you.
Marian, the guys pretty much do it all now. That's what happens when sons come along I guess...mothers end up out of a job. lol.
Nita, we are weeks and weeks away from any field work but getting in wood, which really doesn't count. I wrote many columns in my head while raking and counted many interesting birds. Sometimes I rode with the boss and he "auctioned off" the Barn Swallows, practicing his auction chant.
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