Catching Up

The fall colors have seemed to have peaked.  Some strong winds and rains have brought down many of the leaves and are bringing the first stages of winter drabness to the countryside.  That changing of the seasons is just one of the things that makes living in our part of the country so enjoyable.  The new header picture is one I took along the East Fork of White River in Martin County.  This stretch of stream is one of the best in the Midwest.  It courses through woodlands and fields, river bottoms and rugged bluffs.  It passes landmarks with names like Devil's Elbow, Heathen Bend, Norman Rock, The Old Man's Nose, McBride's Bluff and the Pinnacle.  The shot above was taken at Clark's Ferry.  Great country!!

I helped some friends get in the last of a late hay crop and also helped in getting in some corn. The ear corn was hauled to the stationary sheller that was set up and run through.  Even with the severe drought in our area, this corn made about 90 bushels to the acre or so.

We've been enjoying turnips from the garden and some lettuce and spinach.  The cooler weather has also caused us to keep the soup pot going.  We've picked up a quarter of beef from the processor and stowed it in the freezer.  The beef was part of one that we had purchased from a local raiser.  To this, the boys and I plan to add a deer or two when the season opens.  This is just a great time of year!

A friend just moved in a new kitchen stove into their house.  Actually, his wife had located the stove and bought it a week or so ago.  They moved it this week with the help of a brother and his sons.  It is a Pioneer Princess that is only about three years old.  The Pioneer Maid that it replaced had an oven that was just about baked out, so to speak, and the lady of the house had been on the lookout for a replacement.  As you can see, this one is a dandy.  Not only is this the family's cookstove, it is the source of heat for the winter.

The new Princess

Patti and I made a trip last week to celebrate her birthday.  While exiting one of our favorite eating places, we noticed that trees along the streets in downtown Bloomington are now sporting some hand knitted winter garb.  Life must be good when we can have sweaters for our trees!

A tree sweater in Bloomington, IN

 One of the things I had on my list to do this year was to make a bike ride to a state park we like to visit.  I made the trip a week ago and rode over to Red Hills State Park in Illinois.  Below is a shot of one portion of the ride along U.S. 50.  I enjoyed the fifty mile ride, although I think it cured me of wanting to make a bike trek across the United States!

U.S. 50 in Illinois

Yeah, I know...

...I was complaining about the heat.  But a friend called, and instead of wanting to go to Dinky's (the local weekly sale barn), he decided that this evening would be the time to bale the last of his oats as hay.  He and his son-in-law had cut the patch earlier in the week.  Now, with that impending 40 percent chance of rain looming, he felt like he'd better get it all baled.

So, braving the heat and humidity (about 106 and 65 percent humidity) we commenced to baling.  Well, the son in law did the baling and I followed along tossing bales as they came off so the horses wouldn't stomp them the next time around.  I also went along and tossed any missed parts of the windrow over into the next one.  Oats have rather smooth stems, and the baler missed a bit here and there.  Right now, every bit of hay is needed and is worth baling.  Below are a couple of shots of the afternoon.  Once the horses were tired out, we pulled the plug and headed in.  The horses were watered and fed, then we were.  Supper was great, with everything fresh from the place, except the hamburgers and noodles!  We had slaw and tomatoes, new fried potatoes, sweet onion slices, tomato slices, peaches and strawberries...all washed down with big glasses of sweet tea.

In the morning, we'll load all the bales onto the hay wagon and haul them in to the barn.

Despite their huge size, the heat really sapped the six draft horses.

Hot and dusty.  The team of six plod along, pulling the baler.

The next photo shows a couple of things.  First, it depicts one way the Amish adapt to some modern equipment.  You can see the steel wheels inside the rubber tractor tire treads.  The rubber is bolted to the steel rims.  This is permitted among the Amish, as the tires do not contain air.

This photo shows the unique arrangement for the wheels as well as the PTO drive.

The next thing to note is the power drive for the baler.  It consists of a used two-speed truck rearend.  The business end of the differential points rearward and not forward as it would if in use in a vehicle.  That point where the universal joint would normally be located has a pulley attached.  That, in turn, connects via a chain to a power take off (PTO) point.  You can see the two connected pulleys and the universal joint from the baler attached to the PTO.  This type of set up allows the user to operate most any PTO driven implement.

Puttin' Up Hay

Since we moved from our old place, one thing I've missed is putting up hay.  I remedied that a couple of days ago when I helped some neighbors get some hay up and in the barn.  The weather has been pretty well prefect for haying--clear, bright days, low humidity, very warm temps, and cool nights.  There has been a lot of hay made during the past two or three weeks.  On Thursday afternoon, I went over and helped some friends put some good mixed hay in the barn.  It was cut from an old alfalfa field and they plan to pasture the horses on it after this cutting of hay.  There is a good mix of remnant alfalfa, some orchard grass and bit of clover and other plant varieties.  Good hay.  As we worked, the owner and a friend worked on the baler, which had developed a 'hiccup'  and had quit tying bales.  We went ahead and got a good load put on, then walked out behind the horse drawn wagon.  We loaded the jeep full of kids and headed down the road to the barn where we'd stack the hay.  It was soon off loaded and even the small kids pitched in.  In no time, we had it emptied and the horses were nibbling the leavings on the wagon.  Then it was back to the field and another load.  This finished the chore, until the baler could be repaired and put back in action.

I like putting up hay.  It is good, honest work...a lot like cutting firewood or digging postholes!