The Hay is in the Barn

Grover likes to try to scare the male alpacas by jumping up and down and barking at them while holding onto the gate.  It's quite comical.  As you can see, they are not frightened in the least.......

Yes, second cutting hay is in the barn.  Though we have not cut our upper hayfield, which yields only a fraction of what the lower field produces.  We may cut it later in August to give it more time to grow.
 
Saturday was hay day.  Sam got the field mostly raked on Friday, and he made sure our baler was going to work properly, so on Saturday morning everything was just waiting for the dew to dry.

 I always want to get photos while things are in progress, but I never seem to have the time.  I really blew it this year, though because we had all kinds of folks show up to help.  It was incredible!  I really could have taken some pictures, but I just did not think about it.  And at one point we had the trailer stacked about 7 bales high.  We guess we have about 300 bales, which is a good amount to get us through the winter.  No one ever keeps count.  I think the baler actually has a counter on it, but I don't think it works, which is fine.  If something on the baler has to not work, I prefer it to be the counter!

Our garden is doing all right now that the rain has let up.  I do think I need to water it at this point though.  Our corn is over my head and has little silky ears on it and the pumpkins and squash are taking over.  I canned a small batch of pickled beets and need to do more tomorrow.  The tomatoes are starting to ripen, but there just aren't as many as there should be.  We do have a couple of pepper plants that have lots of peppers.  I dug up my garlic and was disappointed in how little I got.  I think this year I need to purchase some new bulbs to plant. We have harvested some onions and we have little carrots about ready.

Our  8 hens have suddenly discovered their ability to free range and are making themselves at home.  I caught them on the deck the other day, which I really don't appreciate.  They crap everywhere.....we are up to getting 6 eggs a day though.  

Poor Rowdy.  On Tuesday I left a wheel barrow in a place it does not belong and Rowdy ran into it in the dark while he and Grover were trying to surprise an unwary cat outside the barn.  It was about 10:30, after Grover and I returned from agility class and I went  out to shut the chickens in for the night and the dogs took off running like they often do, hoping in vain to find a cat to chase (they make so much noise and the cats are onto them).  I heard the crash of the wheelbarrow and then silence and Rowdy came running to me with blood all over the side of his face and his eye shut.  It was much less serious than it looked at first and once I got him to quit pawing at it, it looked much better.  The eye itself is fine, the skin is just split open beneath it.  Rather gruesome looking.

My cousin Matt is here visiting from Michigan.  He had business in Columbus on Monday and then in Pittsburgh on Friday, so he decided to stop in and see us in between.  He and Sam are out for their second day of golf today and a good bit of homebrew has been imbibed and there has been some shooting going on.  Guy stuff.  Matt is only 6 weeks older than our older son, Ian.  He is my cousin Tracey's younger brother and he and his wife Julia are expecting their first baby in November.  Very exciting.  Especially since my aunt will be getting her very first grandchild.  She has been waiting a long time.

Otherwise, I expect a quiet weekend this weekend.  Then next weekend, the 8th and 9th, Grover and I have a trial in Dayton, so we will be heading over to Mom's on the 7th for that.  I am looking forward to it.  It will be our first trial where we are in Excellent Standard both days.  We are still having issues with weave poles and I am moving the poles around in the practice area every day or two to help Grover get used to seeing them in different locations all the time.  Let's say I do not expect to be getting any Q's in standard for a while.  I do look forward to some challenging courses, though.  Maybe.....

 


I finished a couple of projects in the last week.  First was the scarf on my small loom.  It came out very pretty and was a quick project start to finish.  It has a commercial tencel yarn (I think tencel is the same as rayon), which is shiny and bright, as the warp and handspun alpaca/angora as the weft.  I think the grey handspun really needed the colorful warp.

And I finished this lace cowl with beads.  I have had this yarn for several years and it is very fine lace-weight.  I also had the beads, which go very well with the yarn.  Another quick project.  It will be nice to wear around my neck in the fall.  It will add some warmth, but will have the sparkle of the beads to dress it up.