Bringing in the Hay

Its been a lush summer, with plenty of rain which has been making the fields grow and grow and grow.  Unfortunately for us, it's been so wet and cool that its been hard to cut the fields, let alone have the hay dry and be ready for baling.  I think if you can serve up silage, you're jumping for joy.  But those of us with flocks and herds that need hay are having a teensy bit more of a struggle. 

Lucky for me, I have a great hay connection with a local dairy farmer, who has actually been able to bale up quite a lot hay in the past week (when it finally stopped raining for a while).  I was able to pick up six fresh and lovely, fragrant bales plus two bales of straw (for chicken bedding) a couple days ago.  The Hay Hut is now restocked, much to the delight of the rabbits.  My only wish would be that our dry spell will continue, so more hay can be gathered up...and perhaps bring the price per bale down a little bit.  $5 per bale is a bit much for any budget, so it would be nice if the market would swing a bit lower as the season progresses.  Not that I begrudge the farmers an income, its just when you buy six bales and spend $30, you start to commiserate with people who have larger herds of even bigger hay eaters!  Thank goodness the rabbits don't run through their stash in a week.

I am really glad, though, that there is hay this year.  I can remember last season (or two) when rain was scarcer than hen's teeth and there was no hay.  Man, that was a whole different kind of worry.  Its nice to not have that particular one this season.  The rabbits are quite happy with their current stash.