My usual life story...

I need a couple classes in farm management. I wonder if Ed Winkle has thought of developing a correspondence course in farming.
We have a little clover to combine and a little buckwheat to combine and a couple truckloads of barley to deliver and a little ground to work and a little silage to chop and after October 15th I have wheat to plant for several neighbors.
It looks like rain...for a week...
I needed to get some ground ready to plant alfalfa and then I needed to plow 30 acres. I wanted to get the 30 acres worked so I would get a sprout from the coming rain.
I was on my way with the 2-155 last night but got called on to help set up dad's printer. We figured it was time to fix his printer as he told us he had a dream where it worked and it was a good dream...
My dad's "I have a dream" speech was not so much about social issues, but it was compelling.
By the time the printer was working it was dark and I was hungry and I thought I'd just get started in the morning.
This morning I started the tractor (not as early as I had planned) but then my helper arrived and I had a cup of coffee and discussed what we were doing today. When I walked back to the tractor I noticed a larger than normal drip and a larger than normal puddle of oil.
So, I wiggle the hose that is dripping...
Suddenly the hose exploded sending a spray of hydraulic oil at 2,200lbs of pressure under the dash of my tractor. The power steering line had blown.
This required removal of the hoods, fuel tank, cab floor, and a trip to town for fittings rated over 2,400lbs of pressure.
Then I discovered the cab mounting bushings had failed.
Then there was a wiring problem.
I did just get it all back together and started the tractor. No leaks so far.
I am very thankful that steering line didn't fail about the time I hit that mailbox last week, or on Hwy 18 or going over that steep hill. I would not have wanted to do this job alongside the highway.

My friend's artwork

It is pretty good, you can't even see the numbers!
Bless his angst-filled artist soul... or female drama filled soul-depending on how you look at it. If only he could run away and fight in the Spanish Civil war or be a stover on a tramp steamer.
Anyway, here is the link...
If you want to comment, be sure to use big words like existential or dadistic or avant-garde, or simulacrum which I have no idea the meaning of.
Don't say, "a pet monkey with a paintbrush," or "It's pretty good you can't even see the numbers..." or I don't get it-where is the tree? Those are not encouraging things to say to an aspiring artist.

We catch a fish

Daughter and I went fishing this afternoon. The cousins joined us. We also built roads with the vintage Tonka trucks at the river. But, in between we went fishing.
I caught two rather small bass. The first was more like a really big minnow. The second was not quite big enough to keep. The daughter and nephew were somewhat disappointed at not catching tiny fish of their own but shared in the excitement of actually catching a fish.
I caught the first fish with a MEPPS spinner and the second with a lure someone gave me. It looks like a really big slug with a hook sticking out of his bottom.

I accomplish nothing all week

I have been attempting to plant annual ryegrass since monday. I have planted 30 acres. Yesterday I planted 6 acres of annual and then after dark I planted another 6 acres of Timothy hay.
I have a 15ft drill. I've planted 100 acres in a long day.
I have only been fishing once.
Little problems with the drill, little problems with tractor, pickup loads of hay sold, 4 barrels of chicken feed, trucks moved, a few farmers who wanted to talk. But, somehow the time just went away.
I guess I will go to work now.

A totally hypothetical situation

Not that his would actually happen to anyone...
Lets say that it is pretty close to your birthday. A birthday that is one step closer to being old. Not that anyone would notice...
Perhaps it rained the night before and the sky is cloudy and dark.
Suppose that a 4 a.m. you had been awakened by dogs barking and discovered the neighbor's horses in your wife's flowerbeds. Suppose that because you are lazy and your wife didn't seem to care all that much, you noted that 1. you did not have the neighbor's phone number, 2. eventually they would discover the horses were missing and look for them, 3. the corral gate has been busted for 5 years, 4. if you call the sheriff you will have to wait for him to arrive, and 5. if they get hit by a car we will never speak of this again-and you go back to bed.
Suppose, that your employee arrives early and you give him a job and away he goes. Suppose that you are still just a little depressed by those clouds and your own mortality and so in a moment of clarity you decide to forget work and go fishing. Something you have never really done before, at least in any recent memory. A conscious decision to just flat out skip work. After all it has just rained and the sky is gray and it is perfect weather for catching one of those bass you see lurking in the deep water behind the log in the river.
So... remember this is all just hypothetical... you grab your fishing pole and sneak out to your pickup-only to see your hard working and some what older neighbor driving by. He is so amazed to see you carrying a fishing pole on a Monday morning that he does a double take, slows down and waves.
Now just suppose your daughter was given a old and rather neurotic German Shepherd who worries a lot about guns and imagines that things like fishing poles could be a gun and is so weird and uptight that she never looks where she is going and tends to walk out into the middle of the road, as she was a town dog.
Continuing with this hypothetical situation, the next thing you hear is the dull thunk of a dog hitting a pickup truck because the idiot dog walked in front of the truck and the driver was looking at you because you were obviously ditching work to go fishing and now he just hit your dog.
So... if that dog lay wheezing in the middle of the road with one eye popped out of her skull do you call the vet and get an examination or do you shoot the dog? Would that be ironic that the dog was so afraid of a fishing pole being a gun that it wandered into the road and injured itself beyond repair and so had to suffer the fate it so feared? Or would it be ironic that you just nursed the dog you really kind of dislike-because of it's pathetic neurosis, back to health after if nearly died this summer only to have it walk in front of a truck and die?
And, is it true that you could get large fines and possible jail time for shooting your own dog?
Keep in mind this is purely hypothetical and I could never image this sort of story line happening in real life. At least not to any NORMAL HUMAN BEING!!!!

Today we rode a steam train

Brother and family and I and daughter rode a steam train today. It was fun. There was a girl driving the train. I pointed that out to my daughter. That would be a great summer job!

News from the BBC

I was looking at news from the BBC this evening and I came across this story. It would appear that two guys broke into a house while the owner was home. One of the guys got stabbed and the police arrested the homeowner.
What absolutely amazes me is that "floral tributes" were laid at scene in honor of the house robber who got stabbed.
I am a pretty non violent person but my home is my castle. The whole story seems a bit odd and shows a strange attitude towards crime and criminals.

People are becoming more and more idiotic

I was reading about air show crashes. I think it is terrible to ruin a WWII airplane. They just don't make em like that anymore... And of course the people who were under the airplane... Of course if you are in the front row at the Reno air races I suppose you take some risks...
The point of the of the title of the post can be illustrated in the comments following the articles.
The clever people say a 60-70 year old should not be flying a 1940's era airplane. No one stops to think...
1. This is a once in how many years? accident...
2. Old airplanes are very carefully inspected. Especially if they are in an airshow. You should be more worried about that second rate airline that gave you the reduced fare.
3. Why would age make the difference? He had to pass a physical. There is a big difference between 75 and 85.
4. Why do you think you are smarter than anyone else because you are 14 years old and sitting behind a computer.
5. Do any of these people who post ever just do a internet search for details on the plane or the person or requirements for licensing or flying?  (No-they are lazy idiots who want other people's lives legislated for them.
This is the same thought pattern that gives approval to the petty and amateur psychology that results in us having our personals cupped at airport screenings and gives us reams of paperwork for our daily lives and won't allow me to make small-scale explosions in my back yard.
Idiots run the world...
I would feel safer at an airshow than standing on the corner in front of my house when the kids go rocketing by on their cafe racer motorcycles! I swear when the next one crashes I'm going to steal his wallet...

So I attempted to rake and bale alfalfa by myself. I tried several options. First I raked 100 feet and then I walked back to the baler and baled up to the rake. This was not very efficient.

Next I raked three rounds and then baled three rounds. Not that much more efficient.
I thought about calling Muddyvalley but figured he was probably driving his Tote Goat or old Coot and didn't want to be bothered.
Finally, I called my wife to see if the daughter wanted to rake. Daughter was involved in some serious adventure with the cousins and dispatched my wife to rake. It all went well and I actually got it baled. It is very nice and green. The moisture was 14 percent at 4:30 p.m. It has gone up to 18 percent in the bale but I think it will be fine.
It is baled and stacked and in the barn.
I am happy.

An official apology and why I should keep my nose out of other people's business

A couple days ago I posted a link to a blog I have been following. The writer was in the midst a really bad situation. It didn't turn out so well. It was kind of an invasion of privacy.
Some years ago I had a good friend who had a serious drug problem. I went through part of his 12 step program as a support person. I was not very useful/helpful to him. I was not the person he thought I was. It has always bothered me.
One thing I do remember is how alone he felt.
The writer of the blog to which I linked is really an amazing person and I am in many ways in awe of her. She has traveled through Europe and Central America with nothing but what she could carry and a camera. I am in total awe of anyone who can just ramble and be happy.
I don't have the link to her old blog in which she detailed her adventures but I think there was a link on her new blog to her photo stream which has the photos.
She also has a heroin addiction.
She has been clean for long periods of time. I just linked to her at a really bad time without providing much background information.
Somehow I thought it would bring her some sort of support or solidarity.
I think she should write a book.
She probably thinks I am a stalker...
I apologize...

Another post about small farms

I like the idea of smaller farms. I see Gene Logsden has another post about this somewhat Utopian ideal.
I think small farms create more jobs in the local economy. I think their so-call non efficient scale is good because it recycles money locally.
But...I also believe the law of supply and demand trumps all ideals. There is a reason for big farms other than the forces of evil and the fires of Mordor.
I don't claim to be an expert but I see big farms as just another facet of an economy/government/business/banking tend which is to big rather than small. Big is easier to control and legislate. That is probably the simple answer.
Big deals with labor easier. Having a legal employee is a pain in the arse.  In the future I don't think you will be able to run a small farm without a big family or a lot of cash reserves because of labor and safety and code compliance issues.
High inputs, what are you going to do? Farm with horses? Well, it looks like it... At least you can eat your horse.
Other issues, the corporate farmer doesn't come after you with a gun when you come to foreclose on his farm.
Whatever, I just lost interest in  the whole debate. I've got 20 acres of beautiful alfalfa that most likely will get rained on. We are getting ready to rake single windrows to get the hay up off the ground. We have fluffed the stuff every day this week-early in the morning so the leaves don't shatter. The hay is so close and there was no dew this morning. But, you can still peel back stems on the bottom of the windrows. I checked it at 7:30 this morning and if the sun comes out I might be able to bale this evening. Otherwise, it needs another two days. It is going to rain Saturday.
I rolled some worked ground moderately late last night but I started going to sleep and wandering all over the field with the roller. I really like my 1984 White 2-155 front wheel assist and I don't want to trade it in on a horse. Perhaps if I just went for the scratchy wool underwear and stocking hat and kept the tractor? I think I could look the part of a modern small farmer.
My employee sent me a text to turn to 106.3 on the radio. It was the song that goes something about, "sittin' in a railway station, one toke over the line..." It is stuck in my head. Perhaps that is what got me thinking about small farmers...

If you had a choice between being an irresponsible arse and work what would you do?

I made that choice today...
I will say that I need to have a less recognizable tractor. Something green or red and not silver.
It was not a good day to move wide farm equipment down the road. There were lots of people who have apparently never seen a tractor before and don't realize that they would be much less likely to get hit if they moved to the far side of their lane.
Plus, it was garbage day and I had to dodge garbage cans and mailboxes for ten miles. Anyway, I was coming down the A---- Hill and I met a truck. I had plenty of room and he got over for me but I cut the throttle, put in the clutch, and pulled over on the shoulder. The motor died when I applied the brakes. I then had no steering and no brakes and there was a mailbox in the way. Actually, five mailboxes in the way. My reactions are not exactly razor sharp so in the two seconds or three  five seconds it took me to figure out that all I had to do was let the clutch out again and the engine would start I may have bumped the mail boxes just a little.
I should have stopped and at least apologized. It was the right thing to do. It was the farmer thing to do. Then I thought about having to talk to someone or attempting to pull them back up while blocking the road and I said screw it. I backed up and I came home. I am glad there was not a mailbox hung up on the tractor font end weights. That would have been a dead give away.
So for those of you who care, yes I'm a jerk... Don't buy chicken feed from me or wave at me any more. Whatever...

I thought I wrote about this before but I can't find the post. Ed says some of his posts disappeared so perhaps mine are as well. I do a kind of write and forget about it blog so who knows.
I've been lurking following a blog by a girl who takes interesting photos of her travels around the world and writes of her adventures, both the ups and the downs.
Right now she is at an extremely low spot.
I found her several times in my wandering around the internet.
I think I first found her old blog doing a search for Powells Books.
Then I saw her on a blog.
She was kind of vilified by a conservative blogger when she worked on a democrat party campaign. I think she drew devil horns on the republican candidate or something. She wrote about being sent to the Legion Hall to do sign ups and being successful because of the dress she wore or being cute and female or something. I thought that was pretty funny, the blogger got all sanctimonious-"those evil democrats, how unprofessional, blah, blah, blah." I  did a search with her name, but then lost the links. Later, I also found her on blogger as she likes Johnny Cash and the book Into the Wild.
Later I did another search for her and turned up all sorts of info so I kind of feel like a stalker.
So, after finding her in several places I finally bookmarked her blog. Which went private for a while and changed and them came back and whatever. I don't really remember the chronology of the whole thing and I think all and all it has been over the course of a couple years or so.
I don't follow her blog on blogger as I see worlds colliding should our followers mingle.
I suppose if I met her real life it would be strange but I also suppose if Orin, Ralph, Gorges, Ed, Collieguy, Bobby, MuddyValley and several Anonymous poster all met there would be some awkward silence. Until we got into a debate about studebakers, International trucks, and if we should eat at Ashe's or the Blue Goat and those durn democrats and bicyclists. Hmm, perhaps it would be fine.
But, I digress...
The girl is a good writer and I like how she comes up with stuff that sounds deep and intellectual which is actually what I want to be but end up being silly and sarcastic. It is like sports writing, you get to use all these cool terms. My attention span/memory is too short to quote anyone literary. Perhaps its is because I'm turning into a bug... (ooh a reference to Kafka!-but not a very good one)
Her crack ups really make me feel sad. I think it is because she is what I want to be, except for the drug addiction, how she supplements her income, being a socialist, all the annoying hippie guys she hangs out with... Which leaves, music, writing, being able to drop everything and travel the world with an overnight bag and a camera, the one-out-of-thirtyfive-non annoying hippie, various literary references, and being a girl. I suppose the girl identity is ok as my daughter seems to be happy, I think I am too old to change....
I'm writing all this to my blog because of an anonymous poster on hers. The poster pointed out the obvious in a short terse post. But didn't leave a name. This made it all mean and not helpful. I am sure that age 30 she realizes she is a tad messed up. In fact she does not hide this at all.
However, after reading her blog I feel a lot of empathy for her and hate to see it all end badly. Beautiful train wrecks are great in books and songs and poetry but in real life it is not beautiful. A talented life destroyed is a terrible thing to see.
All my years of tying unrelated scriptures into Sunday School devotions and I have no great insights and no words that I can see helping her. I would just be another preachy idiot and that would be that...
My philosophy- One foot in front of the other. You get your arse out of bed and go to work. You focus on moments of happiness when the happen and remember them for times they don't.  You put your trust in God and rationalize a positive outcome out of negative events.
My observations from reading her blog, people don't always tell the truth but it doesn't mean they are purposely lying. There are certain things that a guy cannot accept even if they say it is fine and enjoy the end results. People are not really open minded, it is a lie... Do not ever take drugs. It does not expand your mind. George Dickel is not that much better...
Now I am going to work.
If you know me and read this blog good for you. I'm writing while in the bathroom so bugger off, I'll be out to load your #$%^&*ing hay truck or tell you what field to rake in five minutes. Be a $%^&* self starter, have another cup of coffee but get the %^&* off my porch...
Here is a link-keep in mind I've followed a lot of her adventures and so kind of feel like she is a literary character-lake the protagonist of a novel. You are just invading her personal space.
Note:I will probably remove the link this evening. This may be a disappearing post. I would like to hear what others of you think.

I plant clover

I had a frustrating day. I went to do my first planting job of the season. I underbid the price. I forgot my special seed-o-meter made by a guy named dave. I like people named Dave. They are mostly nice guys...
But, I digress...
I was supposed to plant Red Clover at 15lbs per acre. I went by the Great Plains drill chart. We couldn't find much seed but the seed gate thing was pretty far open. At the end of six acres I checked the bin level and it had not gone down enough for 15lbs per acre. So I opened it up a bit. I finally ended up with a setting that should have given me almost 30lbs per acre and I ended up doing 15 acres over again. I didn't even take the pickup as it was supposed to be a three hour job. It took six...
There were a few other frustrations that I don't need to get into.
I had a discussion with someone about farmers and farm subsidies and how we are growing crops that could be imported cheaper from other countries. Like those apples picked green in China last year and put in a container with a little phostoxin to kill the bugs and shipped on a slow boat ripen...
I hate being broke and kind of a pathetic sort of farmer. I know why the Gorgesgrouse fellow quit his sawmill.
On the other hand my home built GPS worked really well for replanting what I previously covered. I ran pretty much blind as I could not see a difference in color between what had to be replanted and where I had just been. The FarmerGPS program worked very well and the POS windows tablet didn't lock up once.

I finished up around dark and didn't want to bring the tractor and drill down the highway in the dark. So I borrowed the farmer's pickup and came home early.
I opened up my iBook and thought I'd check some blogs and soon found someone who has a reason to be depressed. Perhaps I'll make another post.

Young women with poor judgement and traffic congestion at the Elementary School and unintended consequences

I should be working...
I have hay to rake, ground to work, planting to do, straw to bale. Instead I am setting in the bathroom blogging. Something is wrong here. I don't think the more ambitious farmers in the neighborhood do this...
I took my daughter to school. She is enrolled in the public school this year. I hate public school. I hate the petty institutional mind-control socialization BS, I hate the crowds of people, (which says more about me than the school, this is Amity, the so-called security is annoying, and I like to carry a gun in my pickup...
Today was the first day of kindergarten so there were a lot of young mothers running around.
Today they also started enforcing the fire lane in front of the school.
My wife is big on that, she spoke to the fire chief about it. It also annoyed me but I was a little worried about unintended consequences, if you complain and they do something-will it make it all worse?
It did...
I told my daughter, this is why you keep your mouth shut and find another way that everyone else has not figured out....
I should have thought about two things, first the law of supply and demand. Secondly the fact that natural selection has given us young women with poor judgment.
Think about it, why do people get married? It is not as in the old days, to raise a family and to survive. Instead the girl tries to find the man with the most income that her looks can get her. The boy tries to find the best looking girl that he can get naked and continue to get naked until he either has to marry her or she leaves.
So we end up with lots of sort of attractive young women with small children. The first one was the hook, the second was the set, and the third was just the icing on that child support payment. Becuase of true love...

You can't leave two children in the car while you escort the third child across the parking lot so you park right in front of the school in the red fire lane to drop off your kids.
This is not a problem as long as the line moves. The problem is the women getting out of the care and escorting the kids to class.
When you complain then the fire lane rule is enforced. You can't pull up to the curb and drop off the kid.
What do you do?
People are in a hurry and running late and there is no parking.
I usually walk the daughter to the door as I just like my daughter. I park in the side lot where it is too far for the ladies to walk. I'm in and out before the mini-van that was behind me has made it to the offensive parking position on most mornings.
Today it was a mess. I parked the Studebaker in the grass and walked the daughter to class. It was an interesting walk. Those ladies do get pretty shrill. I felt sorry for the Fire Chief who was enforcing the fire lane. He is a nice guy!
Note: I have no answer to the problem. They just needed to stop people from leaving their cars unattended in the fire lane. I think they need a whole new drop off system that you can just drive through and kick the kid out the door, but I don't know how and where to put it. Or a new fire lane...
Or the daughter needs to go back to a small private school...

A Sunday with Tonka Trucks and a river and not a lot about world events...

We had a nice church service this morning and then my brother and I and the kids went to the river. We built an incredible road using Tonka trucks.

Later my brother took his kids to church and daughter and I played with her mini monster trucks in the sand.
It was a good day...
I didn't think much about how we've been losing WWIII for the past ten years. There is no more Winston Churchill or even an FDR, heck I'd even take Truman.
I finally found someone who articulates what I've been thinking for a few years. Not going to say the name cause he is not so popular anymore...

Drinking and driving and what I've been doing...

My favorite store just got my favorite beer, ice cold! Taking a drive and we have Lefty on the radio...and Stanley in the back seat!

What I did Sunday. Floated down the river with my daughter. Just the two of us on an old tractor tube.  Looked at fishes, sang silly songs, avoided grownups.

What I've been doing since then. Dust is three inches deep on the fenders. So much for 5 years of no-till! At least now it will be smooth!

 What I want to be doing is hanging out at the beach with Mr and Mrs. Collieguy who are here for a visit. Probably listening to the Ledge right now!

The post I made previously has been removed

It is not my story to tell. I just feel bad. Half the time I have no clue what I am talking about.
Funny comment by Gorges about blindness and bars. I got it...
Have a nice day/evening/whatever...

A funny picture and a news story

I worked ground fairly late last night and then roused from bed by a assault from a nerf machine gun so perhaps I'm a bit groggy this morning.
I was checking the weather to see if it will hit 100 this week and came across a funny picture. This hot weather should be good for hay but there is so much dew in the morning it is like a shower. I'm going to cut at the end of the week. I think...
But, I digress...
Look at this story about a fellow groping a lady in a local store. Then look at the accompanying photos.
I know I should be horrified but... and that is a fairly large butt! I wonder if these photos show the fondler stalking his victim.
I wonder if the girl in the orange shirt is a supporter of OSU. They have a term for people who believe OSU will win and she is wearing orange and black.
I do think the real criminal is who ever gave that girl a super-wedgie!

It is my well-considered opinion that the City of A---y is run by Morons!

I am happy to note that the City has in fact recognized that is it run by morons maroons by incorporating the color maroon into their new logo. They should have also incorporated a radar gun and the Three Stoodges but that I suppose in another story.
I say this because on my way back from dropping my daughter off at the indoctrination center I see construction on the only remaining business block in town. I would be a goatburger or a piece of rhubarb pie or a piece of greasy pizza (covered the main business-oh forgot, a pocket pint of ole' grandad.. now we are covered) that what ever they are doing will result in less parking and more difficulty in moving anything but a Smart Car through town.
Locals accuse the city manager of being a dip---t but I say he is using his college degree in an affective manner. He is keeping himself busy. Of course just about everything the city does is idiotic and counter productive but that is the new face of the good old USA. No one actually has to do real work for their living so nobody knows how anything works.
So we will get pedestrian islands and probably a tree or two. I bet money that if they could figure out how to put in a round-a-bout they would do that too.
What they will not do...
1. Streetside parking
2. Fill the potholes lining the shoulders of the four main roads running through the Amity City limits so you could park without getting stuck. AND if you are moving wide implements you can pull onto the shoulder without bouncing three feet in the air.
I am starting to care less and less. I think I will adopt the big farmer attitude of taking my half out of the center and just driving. I've got flashers, I'm legal, screw it!

Edit: I sometimes forget about search engines and google rankings and so I removed the city name from the title. I'm kind of busy and don't really have time to argue with anyone on blogger...

Making more hay

Last night felt like fall. It got cold early and the moisture was up by 8 p.m. We had to quit baling straw before dark. This morning there is a low fog and it feels like silage chopping weather.
We are attempting to make 40 acres of clover hay. It is a thin first year stand. Our neighbor was going to mow it but decided he would rather have us bale it then spend the money to mow it. I'm not sure it was a good idea on his part. It has taken a week and a half to get it dry.
I've put the employee on the job. I've been stacking off and on for other neighbors and haven't had time to personally supervise all of the hay making.

I have made use of my former helper's tractor and baler. He has a little AGCO/Massey FWA  under 100hp tractor and an AGCO 7115 baler.
Which brings up a little aside note. The balers/equipment which were made when AGCO was screwing up the Hesston name appear to be junk. If it has the Hesston/AGCO label with the shades of brown and gold (I think that is the color scheme) it is an awesome piece of hardware. If it says AGCO/Hesston or Massey/Hesston and is still brown it is crap. The new pink equipment seems to be ok. AGCO must have somehow screwed all the long term workers during the transition. My other neighbor has a 3-tie Massey/Hesston which has never baled a full summer in the 2 or 3 years he has owned it. But, his Hesston 3-tie is bullet-proof just like my 4690 Hesston. Absolutely the best baler ever made.

The Best Baler ever made baling grass hay at Muddy Valley

The AGCO series of Hesston balers seem to be poor quality. This 7115 is kind of junk... This is my clover baling operation.

But, I digress...
There is so much dew at night the hay won't fully cure. I cranked the conditioning rollers up to full tension. I set the windrow wide, (but the tires on my 2-135 are set close together so I set the windrow so we don't drive on it while mowing.)
I went over the field with a tedder that has bunch of  ground driven wheels and you pull behind the pickup the next day after cutting. This lifted all the clover and grass off the ground.
Then I just left it alone for five days. I figure the top of the windrows are going to bleach from the dew and so I just don't mess with them. If you keep fluffing them up then more stems are beached. We had a couple days of heavy overcast and so we took advantage of the last day to double rake it all.
With just a little exposure to the air the light windrows immediately dropped to 12 percent. We checked for stem moisture, meaning we look closely at the joints on the plant stem. If you can peel back the stem with your thumbnail or if you can find moisture in the join then the plant is not cured.
When you have use a moisture tester in hot weather you have to also think ahead. If it is 3 p.m. and 85 degrees and the grass hay is 14 percent moisture and it has only been down a two days you can bet it is going back up to 20 percent when it is in the bale. If you look closely you will find green in the joints.
With the clover hay you need to save the leaves. If you bale late in the afternoon you may get the desired moisture but all the leaves will turn to powder and then you may also have wet hay if it is not cured. It is really kind of a pain in the arse.

12.9 percent is probably a little low for Clover. I want to keep the leaves on. You can bale alfalfa up to 20 percent but Clover stems tend to retain moisture. Most of the leaves were still on the bale but the bale was not too heavy so I think it will be good hay.

We ended up skipping the heavy sections and baling all the light windrows. We will rake the heavy windrows this morning after the dew is off and then try to bale in the window between too wet and knocking all the leaves off. I am not coming back at night to bale again after the moisture comes back up.
We made 320 bales and have five acres left. Not a real good yield for 40 acres. I'm hauling the stack home with the stacker about five miles so it goes slow. Of course I broke one of the tables that lift the bales so I welded on that till 10:30 last night. Perhaps I'll post a photo. I suppose some folks would find it pretty interesting how the automatic bale stacker works.