Getting Hay

We have a long, noble tradition here at Crabapple Farm of waiting until the last possible moment to get hay for our critters.  

I can know for weeks we are getting low.  I can daily watch the supply of bales get lower and lower, but it just doesn't reach critical mass until there are only 1 or 2 bales left.

I do have excuses.  I hate calling people about hay.  So does Mr. Bechtel.  When Mr. Bechtel calls I'm always afraid he'll forget to ask critical questions like, " Is your hay stemmy?"  And when I call I am pretty bad at talking with farmers (who aren't a real verbal bunch) and end up saying things like , "well, so how's your hay??"  Long silence... then, "Well, it's pretty good".  And I get no where.     So we ignore it as long as possible.

The other problem is that we always lose the phone numbers for the people we would like to re- buy from (which are few) but have a growing list of people that we'd rather not purchase from.  See how complicated this is?

Enter my brother, Clark, and my Dad.  They saved the day for me this weekend and went and got hay while Mr. Bechtel was gone.  Clark loaded, unloaded and stacked 2 tons of hay and my gratitude is limitless.  

The other huge plus is that they got to deal with the quirks of the hay supplier (an older lady) who tried to convince them that the moldy bales were great and they should take them.    I had to explain that all farmers in this area think their hay is the best, the most tender, etc.  And unfortunately, they also think it is gold and the bales are always "heavier than the normal bale, so you can only take  ____ bales per ton. "   I'm thrilled I missed that whole conversation.  They were both of the opinion that next time we should try a different place, so I guess I'll strike that number off the list. 

The great news is that this batch really is a good third crop batch.  It's leafy, tender and the little goats just love it.  See how spoiled these animals are?  Luxury.