Well, the last bale of hay was taken off the field last weekend, officially ending summer for us!

Haying this year was quite easy for us, as we decided to buy the proper machinery for the job. We got a New Holland 469 "haybine" (mower-conditioner) to cut the hay, a NH 1010 Balestacker to collect it, and a 60-horsepower Massey Ferguson 180 to work beside our 202.

But perhaps the best addition to our hay equipment (Perhaps a bit late) was a John Deere 348 baler. I have NEVER seen bales come out of that Ford baler as nice as what the John Deere can do! I ran a bale over with the 180, and the bale didn't even notice! also, not having to stop every time the knotters trip to cut the twine is a plus too.

After we were done, we got 650 bales off the field. That's a far cry from the 75 we got last year.

We were originally using the quad's seed spreader to fertilize the fields, but since we got a fertilizer spreader for the tractor, it has become way easier. I don't think the fields would have produced as much without the fertilizer.

At the end of June, a massive windstorm blew through. me and my parents were heading to a tractor show in Alberta, but my brother said it was comparable to what you would see in a hurricane. Quite a few trees were blown over, including a massive Douglas fir that was four feet wide at the trunk (It's heartwood was rotten, so it was an easy push).

We were without power for five days. Not that we entirely noticed, as we had two generators, kerosene lamps and the gravity fed water, so we were managing quite well. We didn't have much in the line of firewood, as we burnt it all up in two winters. So, this mean we have a lot of premium firewood now, ready for the chopping!

To store this firewood, we cleared the lot were the woodpile sat so we can build a woodshed. We got our D8 going, and pulled out a couple of stumps, including several trees that (Thanks to the windstorm) we no longer want by the house. One large pine we pulled out was on a rock pile, and had a surprisingly small rootball, so it was a good thing we decided to clear them out.

September means school, so it's back to the grindstone for me! I'm taking English at the collage, with math and socials at the distance education. I have to say, I'm finding it's pretty easy so far!