12 Comments
User's avatar
Barbara Butterworth's avatar

I really enjoyed reading this. Your writing is informative and very entertaining! I will visit the Hillstead with a new appreciation for the the work involved in hay making!

Expand full comment
Penny Miller's avatar

I got a call from Wes this am and he too failed to find “MOWL” He believes that it is a local thing passed down among the local farmers 😂

Expand full comment
Heidi Egloff's avatar

I’m exhausted just reading about it!

Expand full comment
Bobbie Emery's avatar

I know, I'm thinking once we get the hay all into the barn, I might curl up on top of it all and take a long nap.

Expand full comment
Penny Miller's avatar

Your inventive genes and persistence remind me of Cliff and the machines he concocted to use on the ranch in WY. My favorite was the one that only ran backwards. You will have to ask Gill what It did. Love Penny

Expand full comment
Bobbie Emery's avatar

Sounds like he might have a car mounted buck rake. I've talked to Gill before about haying in Wyoming. They are so dry where she is that they easily can store their winter's hay supply outside. Not so in New England!

Expand full comment
Mark Collins's avatar

Hello Bobbie (and Anne),

Ingenious! Although the image of you driving backwards in the fields all day is entertaining, I can understand why you wanted to avoid this “solution!” Your renaming of your Brush Hog to Hay Hog is fun. A different idea came to mind, since, I too, am fond of alliterative titles. I came up with Heave-Ho Hog. Quickly looking up the origins of the “heave-ho” expression, I found this...

noun INFORMAL

dismissal or elimination from a job, institution, or contest.

"conjecture over who'll get the heave-ho"

exclamation

used when lifting or pulling something heavy.

There is a song that includes the expression, too. You probably know it! It might come in handy if the barn beam beautification project becomes frustrating. Told you I was a fan of alliteration.

Thanks for always writing such entertaining fare!

Expand full comment
Bobbie Emery's avatar

Thanks Mark! The most entertaining part about driving backwards with the buck rake is that it had to be done at a high speed so there would be enough momentum to keep the hay pile moving. I think I'd go back to using a pitchfork...

Expand full comment
Bobbie Emery's avatar

Thanks Barbara!

Expand full comment
Penny Miller's avatar

Mow is spelled mowl according to Wes who should know since he hays

Expand full comment
Bobbie Emery's avatar

I looked it up and can't find any reference to "mowl". Every reference I found refers to "mow".

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/haymow.

Expand full comment
Penny Miller's avatar

I agree. I can’t find it anywhere either. I look forward to another educational conversation with Wes 😂

Expand full comment