First Field of Hay
As much as I like
making hay I dislike being covered in oil, scraped, and have my temper tested. Especially
the last part, I am usually pretty easy going take it as it comes type of
person when it comes to fixing things, yesterday pushed me top the limits
physically and emotionally as the baler was no longer referred to as the baler but
instead had achieved the new title of the f-ing baler.
One hydraulic line
kept blowing apart time after time when I thought I had it fixed. This was kind
of scary as it holds up the whole rear end of the baler to let the huge round
bales out. It is the part you don’t want to be trapped in as it will cut you in
half and they have safety features like a lock out system that prevents the rear
end of the baler from coming down to fast. The line blowing also caused another
part to fail miserably and required welding at one point to make it and the
baler work successfully again.
I had dodged the bullet
of rain on Friday night with hay still on the ground and I had another field
down and drying all day yesterday as I refused to rake it till I knew the baler
was working. A line blew on Friday night and I was up until dark working on
that same line, finally giving up when it was too dark to see and I needed a
part to make it work.
The next day
dawned and I caught up on work, like watering dried up plants in the greenhouse
and then rushed out to grab parts and food for the house. I came back stashed
the food, proceeded to head to the baler to finish fixing it. Having installed
the part I needed and assuring myself that everything was ok I headed out to
the field to finish baling the field I couldn’t the night before. It ran well
till I was ready to drop the bale and the same hydraulic line came apart at the
place I fixed it. Only this time it allowed one side to shift and threw the
carriage and the chain that wraps the bales off its track. I could see now what
was causing that, as my temper was starting to boil as I now had a huge bale
stuck in the f-ing baler and had to weld it back together. First I had to get
the bale out. This required fixing that same hydraulic line again. I get it
fixed and finally after some persuasion, I get the bale out. And then have to deal with
the chain wrapping the bale, which is off track.
This required
some thinking and if I was really smart I would have just gave up and sold the
f-ing baler for scrap. I had to get a come- along and at times remove a pulley
while working under the rear of the baler supported by the hydraulic line I just
fixed. While I still had a major problem with the part needing welding going on
and no safety bars or anything but that same hydraulic line that had failed on
me before. I made sure I never let my hands stay in the bale compartment or as far
as that goes my arm as I had to reach in several times to work on the chain to
get the bale compartment to close before I could even weld it.
This was around
four o clock and now I had another field of hay that I had not raked that needed
baled also and I was burning daylight working on the baler still. Time was
pushing me to get this completed and I still had not welded the f-ing baler
yet. Not being able to find the right tools and in general just becoming tired
of all this was settling heavy on my mind, as I just wanted to be done, as I have
another job to do today. I hate to just leave hay in the field when it is ready
to go, so I needed to just get this thing fixed and I pushed on trying to
contain myself till I would scrape an arm or lose a part into the belly of the
steel animal I was working on and would have to crawl on my hands and knees on
the ground looking for it all the time
cursing the f-ing baler. Thank someone the steel animal doesn’t have any
feelings as I am sure I would have hurt it emotionally at this point with the
spew I was bringing forth from my mouth.
I finally get
everything straightened out and the part welded and even though I will have to
make it better , it should serve for right now and finally I am able to bale
again and it is 6 o-clock . I still haven’t
raked the other field to bale. I take the f-ing baler off the tractor and hook
up to the rake and rake the field which only takes about 20 minutes. I reattach
to the f-ing baler and finish the field I started to bale on Friday night when this trouble
all started and finally finish it. The sun is still coming down good and so I let
the field I had just raked grab some extra sun to dry out some more. I saw some
green turn up when I was raking so I took a well-deserved brake till 8 o’clock.
I go back out and
grab the tractor and baler and finish baling my last field. When I go to let
the bale out I blow the damn hydraulic line again in the same connection I had
done it before. There is no rest for the weary and I was about to park it and
say the hell with it, but I still had daylight , not much as it was waning but
still enough to see. I grab the wrenches and get after it. and finally after
some cuss words , some banging and thumping of my head and another bath in
hydraulic oil I manage to get the line fixed and was able to get the field
done.
Sometimes I think
it is the challenge that drives farmers. To work against the constraints of
time and conventional wisdom against the odds of the weather and daylight that
drives us on. Mere mortal men would have just given up or bought a new one
hoping the dealer would service it and all things would work as they should. My
experience with dealers in equipment is that they figure the farmer will take
care of things. I have found loose lug nuts where wheels are about to fall off
and parts missing or loose and the dealer looks at you like you intentionally
lost them while trying to obtain a replacement for their neglect. Farm dealers
typically are farmers who couldn’t make a living at farming, so they sold the
equipment or fixed it. They for the most part are no different than a farmer.
Only when it
comes to hay in the field or some other burden pressing them, the dealer or his
helper will walk off your field at quitting time, allowing your whole field to
rot in the rain that is sure to follow. It isn’t their problem it is yours the
farmer. Working on equipment and especially making repairs when pushed by the
weather or time is a concern only the farmer faces and most people are unaware of.
Working as if there is no set time to quit, sometimes late into the night under
lights to try and save a piece of machinery or a field in a larger sense from
destruction. This could make or break a farmer. Had I still had cattle, they
would need the hay I am making and they need it in good shape ready to eat in
the middle of winter.
It means lot to a farmer to finish what he has started
, the ramification of letting one thing slip can easily multiply into a whole
operation failing and a lot of it depends on that one farmer usually . Well
anyhow I am at an impasse as rain is heading here Tuesday and there is a 100
percent chance so I will pass on cutting any more hay till Wednesday when I have
another opening to make hay. I have a chance to catch up on other things, like
taking a well-deserved break.
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