Reflections on Baling

First crop hay this year was a real wing dinger. 

We got off to a great start with one of the top 5 worst baling sessions of my life. We started at 10 that night and finished up at noon the next day. I hadn't had a nap the day before because I'm not real bright so I was craaanky and tired and falling asleep in the tractor. I honestly would wake up and be half off the row or all the way off the row and it was just really, really bad. I was definitely happy to come home and sleep the rest of the afternoon after we were finally done. 

After that night the rest of it went pretty well. I always made sure to take a couple hours nap in the afternoon and was able to mostly stay awake through the rest of it. 

I also somehow got roped into helping Hansen's with their hay. First crop was kinda nutso for them. Sandra was gone to girls camp and Kirt to scout camp and Kolton was the big man in charge. Bear came out to bale until he broke his foot so one night their Grandpa Taylor had to come out. When we finished for the night Kolton asked me if I could switch out his Grandpa. I thought I was coming to the rescue but instead I broke down 4 times in one hour. Tylee was with me and we really didn't accomplish much. I thought it was a one time deal, but that night as we were getting into bed Kolton mentioned how "WE" were going to have to go out the next morning and get some more stuff done. So somehow I ended up trying to help both parties and somehow we got it done even though I'm definitely not the most dependable or most capable employee. 

And since we're on the subject of baling...

A strange tradition was started by Tylee many years ago when during one baling session she got over the radio and announced that she had made up a song for our listening entertainment. She then proceeded to sing "Under the Sea" from the Little Mermaid with all new lyrics all about baling. It was one of the funniest dang things of my life and really got me thinking. 

The next year, my friend Andra and I made up SEVERAL baling songs recorded them on our phones and sent them to each other all summer long.  My favorite thing became seeing my little phone beginning to load a new text/song in the middle of the night or waking up the next morning to a baling song Andra had sent. 

At the end of the summer we compiled all of our songs and made ourselves a CD. Yeah, we're pretty neat.

This further started the ball rolling and now on any given night of baling I can count on my sisters or one of my cousins to send me a little ditty they have made up. Really, the musical talent on this farm just astounds me. 

Once I was lucky enough to get a little ditty from Kolton and that pretty much made my life. SO funny! It is now his ringtone on my phone and I die laughing every time it goes off...especially when I'm in public. 

But I digress...

So through many baling songs we were able to make it through first crop. 

Near the end of every crop I start feeling worn down and hating life. One of the last nights baling I was thinking how tired I was of this and really just not wanting to do it anymore. A storm was moving in and we were going a hundred miles an hour trying to get everything done before it hit.

Then I looked over and saw my sister in the next tractor and I just got a really big goofy smile on my face because I realized how much I really do love the misery and especially love doing it with my family. 

Every night when we are done baling we all load up together in the pickup with Memo and just laugh and laugh all the way home. (Lots of things seem a lot funnier at 3 in the morning) I get dropped off  at my house and we all call to each other as is our custom..."See you tomorrow, 6 am!"

Another favorite line is, "Sorry bout dat. Es no my problem."

Anyway.

None of this really makes a whole lot of sense but basically I just really love farming and especially doing it with my family. We don't always get along the greatest but at the end of the day we are all working toward the same goal and something about that just brings us closer together I think.

And it just doesn't get much better than that.