We’re so happy. Not only is our haying under full swing but I’m starting to can like mad! I’ve already put up two nice batches of pin cherry jelly with a lot more on the trees (if I can foil the sneaky robins and cedar waxwings). And three days ago I harvested 3/4 of a basket of very nice Provider bush beans that yielded 9 pints of canned beans. How nice it is to sit in the shade on our front porch and cut beans! Talk about your old-time comforts — can’t be beat! I watch the birds and look out on the flowers in our front flower beds. The hummingbirds even come right up on the porch to sip out of the petunias.
We’ve got hay down in two fields but it showered this morning so we won’t be baling today. The hay will be fine waiting to dry, as it hasn’t been raked yet. Boy, are we having trouble finding anyone to “buck bales.” We pay $10 an hour and can’t find a soul who wants to work! What the heck is wrong with people today? Way back when, when I farmed down by Sturgeon Lake, teens would drive around looking for farmers haying and ask if they needed any help on the wagon or in the hayloft. And the going rate then was $2.50 an hour! Now you can’t drag them off the video games. We really miss having David. He’s working overtime for our farming neighbor, Jerry, also haying. Yesterday, he hit the field at 7 a.m. and got done just before dark.
He did have time to “sneak away” for an hour as his brother, Bill, and his family came to visit us. We sure had a great time. The grandkids, Mason and Ava, were introduced to raspberries and had a wonderful experience picking raspberries out of our berry patch and wild blueberries out in the woods. It was exciting showing them the “good” wild berries and the “bad” ones. They caught on VERY quickly!
We also picked berries so their mom, Kelly, could take a bucket full to turn into jam. It was frustrating for me as my knee still won’t take kneeling down to pick and sitting on a bucket was way too slow. I can pick the pin cherries and the swamp blueberries just fine standing, as they are taller. But ours are only about eight inches high. Oh well, everyone else picked like mad and I was able to bend to pick for about an hour before my back quit.
We don’t take the dogs berry picking because they pick and eat more than we do! — Jackie
Thought I would make you all feel better and say wish we lived closer. There are still some kids out there that will buck hay. My 16 yoa son and 14 yoa daughter have bucked hay four different times for other people besides helping load and stack the 24 tons we buy to feed our 6 horses a year. The place we bought is only 7.4 acres and the pastures were destroyed when we bought. Trying to renew but an uphill struggle as we are all dry land.
It is just a piece of foam molded into a cylinder. You put it on the ground and sit on it. Then you roll it up and down your leg muscles (it comes with a “how to”). At first it hurts a bit but you will get use to it and grow to like it. I was amazed at how much loosening up my leg muscles helped my knees. It does such a better job than stretching. Definitely worth a try.
JoeyLea,
Our baler has a chute that delivers the bales onto the wagon so all the guy on the wagon does is stack bales. And I bale in first gear so it’s not all that bad. When we get to the barn, there’s an elevator to send the bales up to the loft. The guy up there has to stack them. Even football players don’t want to buck bales these days!
Katie,
Tell me more about the foam roller. I’ve never heard of one. How does it work and what do you do?
Heather,
Thanks for thinking of us. We are quite a ways from Bemiji, unfortunately. And we need help for a few hours here and there. It’s not usually for an extended period. We’ve even thought about having someone who was basically homeless and wanted to learn homesteading come work and stay with us as family.
Didn’t you realize, “Work” is a four letter word? If you have an elevator on the side of the hay truck, bucking bales goes a lot easier. I don’t know if you do or not, but I imagine there might be one in some ol’ flield sitting and rusting. They are pretty simple – some grease and should work. Also, maybe contact your local HS football coach & see if there are any kids that could use a workout.
Just thinking out loud.
I sure enjoy your articles & just found out about your blog.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom.
I suffered with a bum knee for two years before I was introduced to the foam roller. I paid $10 on sale at WalMart in the fitnes area. I roll my legs every night and am amazed at the difference it has made on my knee.
Sure am enjoying the Provider beans I ordered from you in the spring. Good to see how you planted them, also. They are such a vigorous plant, I should have given mine a little more room. Blessings with upcoming procedure.
Jackie, whereabouts are you located? I have an uncle up in northern MN near Bemidji who is usually happy to help with handyman type jobs. How long would you need him?
Your garden is beautiful! Our garden this year isn’t doing very well. Lots of bugs which we’ve never had and our weather is not normal, very high temps day after day and this is only July! I must say though all of the seeds I bought from you are doing very well. The Hopi squash and pumpkin are beautiful large leaves. All other squash I planted that didn’t come from you got eaten up as seedlings! Your Provider beans are doing great too! I know exactly what you mean about nobody wants to work these days. For the last 5 or so years my husband and I have had to do all the haying by ourselves. We pay $10.00 an hour too and nobody but nobody will work for us. We’re getting older and those bales are getting harder every year for my husband to pick up. Kids and adults alike don’t want to work hard anymore. it’s all about continuous entertainment now.
The beans are so beautiful!! They look like a seed catalog photo. My Providers are nowhere near as good looking :-( but there are lots of them and they taste good. It just doesn’t get any better.
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