Haymaking, Palmer Farm

It's been a great June for haymaking, with abundant amounts of rain, deliciously cool weather, and, with the grasses now at the proper height for cutting, a nice stretch of sunshine and warmth enough for proper drying. Of course, these very conditions are guaranteed to have homeowners gnashing their teeth on account of the need for frequent lawn mowings, but for the local dairy farmers, who depend on a combination of Orchard, Timothy, Sweet Vernal, Rye, and other species, along with a sweetening of Alfalfa and Clover, to feed the Holsteins throughout the year, this June is akin to manna from heaven. The tractors have been going non-stop to cut the meadows, and after a couple of days of lying in the fields, the hay-to-be is aerated—the technical term is "wuffled"—by a specialized machine called a tedder. Once this operation is finished, the rapidly drying grass is raked into windrows for the final operation: turning it into bales. With any luck, I'll be able to watch the baling on my next long walk.