May oats make hay oats, although we're really sowing barley.

I'm never on time with blogging. I  just get posts done as I catch the time. 

This series of pictures is from the 4th of May when we finished planting the last field. Late, worried about there being enough rain and the field not prepped as it should have been because we don't have a horse plow. 

We don't give up though.  

What happens when he sits and thinks.

 

Are we going some where dad?

What happens when he sits and thinks? Since we farm in different places, he figures out how to move equipment efficiently. If the weather ever quits off and on again raining, we're going to mow hay. The first fields due are little grass patches, too small to do with the tractor and nine foot swather.

Hence using the horse mower.

 

 And the fore cart with the rake. The rake is already delivered and waiting, so we don't have to hook it onto the back of the fore cart. Just as well, I think he'd've done it.

 

Okay, Mom, what're we waiting for now???

 

Checking to see if I'm doing okay at the other end of the train.

 

We're drove out in two parts and came back with just the cart.  A lovely Memorial Day outing.

Mean while, back on the farm.

Remember Cats and Compression Starts? Well, way back then, the reason the Cat got used again was the death by cannibalization our Massey 35 performed on itself. The diagnosis after three hours of tear down by the mechanic was two blown cylinders and accompanying damage. I hope I never hear an engine knock and smoke like that again. Not to mention what looked like oily mayo dripping out the tail pipe.

This leaves one more field left to dig and seed before it's too late. The field out Seven Mile is dryland, what ever grows has to make it on the rain. Which is how we ended up spending many days, a part of a day at a time conditioning our Fjords and putting the last six acres into barley hay. This took most of April and on into the first week of May. It takes about two weeks to bring a team from winter fat to able to work all day. They would've been fine, but it kept raining and the dirt ending up too wet to work.

Pendleton Round Up, Westward Ho!

Every year we go up to the Pendleton Roundup and participate in the Westward Ho Parade. Here's the teamsters and friends eating donated watermelons.
The morning of the parade, Immie says, let's go! I'm tired of standing here.
Of course, once we get there, we sit and wait.
And wait some more, two hours this year! My legs were so sore from just sitting on Immie.
The Native Americans really dress up for the parade.
Can you imagine? She plays the clarinet and rides! Part of the mounted band.
Isn't she beautiful?
This lady rode one mule and led another with a dummy laid cross ways.
This is the cutest pony and the buggy is always decorated all over!
After the parade, discussing whose horses were good and whose weren't. See that can of Coke? That was one of three Fay drank after the parade. He was moving fast afterward!!!

Well, he's over the moon today. We got a copy of Country Extra with a pic of us and the horses when we were down to Sweet Home last October. He just loves knowing people are seeing his beautiful team.

Time just passes so quickly. First cuttings of hay are all in the barn or sold and next Monday our 15 acres of barley/alfalfa will be ready for its second cutting. The pics are of Fay and the Fjords cutting hay.

I've sprained my right wrist which explains why no blogging. Typing is NOT on my hot list. Someday it'll heal.

We're two weeks out from haying and Fay is getting the horse mower greased and ready for service. There's always something new to fix even if you think you left it in perfect running order at the end of haying season last year.