Autumn in Michigan!! Hauling The Last Hay Of The Season

Well, eSteemed friends, Fall here on the northern tip of Michigan's Lower Penninsula has arrived only on the calendar. Unseasonably warm is what the weather-guessers are saying. Only 2 frosty mornings and here it's the 9th of October.

Anyway, all that to say that the color isn't really changing yet. Some are worried that we'll go right to browns and skip the vibrant reds and yellows, time will tell.

My neighbor planted the field in the above picture with alfalfa under a cover of wheat. In the summer, he cut and made hay out of the almost-ripe wheat (it was quite weedy). He told me he wasn't planning to use it and offered it to me. Sure, says I. 24 bales of supplementary feed, sounds good. I've been feeding it in my nutrient-poor meadow (logging operation... ugh). It was cool, after the cows had their way with a bale, then the wild turkeys picked through it. Then after a bit of rain, a nice green patch of wheat sprouts at each feeding site. If I had another 400 or so bales, I could 'seed' the entire meadow.

So after being hayed, the neighbors field came back pretty weedy again. Last month he cut it mostly to get rid of the weeds, made five bales, and again offered them to me.

The last bale picked up and hauled in 2017.... I enjoy haying, but am glad it's over for the year.

There's some off-season maintenance that needs doing before next hay season..... hay wagon needs a new deck, it fell apart on me......baler needs new belts.... both will probably wait till spring, then be 'urgent'. I'm a pro-crastinator.

MichiganCowpoke