Memories... It was usually near 100 degrees when we hayed.. the B pulled the rake and dumped the hay (Dump rake), and when Shiloh got too old (The horse) we used the Fergusun to pull the hay forks up into the loft, and us kids jumped around in the hay and packed it down.. little by little we filled the barn... On the wall were doors, that extended all the way to the top.. as the hay built up, you could get to the next set of doors... to hay the cows, you climbed into the loft, opened the doors, dropped the hay into the shutes that terminated in front of the cows that were milked... as the hay level dropped, you got to a lower set of doors...
On the opposite side from the doors, were angled slats, at the bottom of the slats there were more slats that formed a V.. so you could drop loose hay down into the V to feed the cows in the lot... I'll try to get pictures!! The old barn still stands.. When we started using bales, it still worked the same way, but I think it was a LOT more work bailing hay than it was putting it up loose, the difference was, the bales are packed, so you got more hay in the same space.
We had to cut the wire, then drop the hay down the shutes... String made life easier, and then we figured out to use an elevator in the loft door to run the bales up into the loft, that made life even easier.... but by then, I was big enough to throw bales, which sucked..... except when the neighbor girls came to help... I even noticed it still worked the same with my son... how he WHINED about how his hands hurt, how the bales were too heavy, he was thirsty, he was hungry........ then the cute blonde from downt he road shows up and that boy could THROW SOME HAY!!!!
I just pushed hay exactly like that three days ago.. I planted 40 grape vines, and needed mulch of hay to put around the plants, so I cut my field, raked it, and then pushed it into piles to pick up with the wagon... its all spread nicely around the grapes at this time... will see if the grapes grow.
