Cuttin' Hay

[RickN]

That reminds me of Garrett Medicine Bear. He was a big old boy. Dad employed him one haying season but he was always showing up drunk. One day he was bucking bales with Dad driving and I was on the truck stacking. I was three tiers up and I heard an OOOF! I looked up in time to see a bale fly over my head missing the truck completely.

The next year we bought a pop-up loader.

I used to be able to toss a regular bale to the 4th tier but I was a lot younger and in much better shape then. Now I doubt I could get one to the 2nd. On a bad day not to the first.

Getting old and beat up sucks.

 

[TerryMiller]

Man I miss those days. I do not miss the work so much, but I sure wish I was in the shape and health I was back then. With my ribs and all I doubt I could throw a 50 lb bale up to the 3rd level of the trailer let alone an alfalfa bale.

When I went into Army Basic Training in January 1966, the drill sergeant told us that we would lose weight and be in better shape once we finished basic.

However, I gained 10 pounds (regular eating schedule) and each succeeding PT test showed me not doing as well as the test before. Barely passed the final PT test, but part of that reason was because I had been in the hospital for the week before the test.

However, I had been bucking bales for a month or so just prior to going into Basic.