On the Bright Side: Jokes and Traditions

The other day I was over at my dad's house and he was leaving to go outside. So I asked him something like, "What are you working on today?" He turned to me and said, "Oh, I'm going to go out and do some heroin." I started laughing and said, "good one dad" He wasn't sure what I was talking about so I explained that he must be joking because I know he wouldn't go out and "do some heroin" He smiled and said, "No, harrowing, like in the field." Oh, yeah, ok.

Summer Hay

My dad is such a farmer. He lives and dies by the weather in the summer. He always knows the exact time to cut his hay and bale it. If it rains and he's got cut hay then it's a sad day. Because of how much he cares about getting the perfect hay his customers are assured that they are getting top quality.

Bales drying after a rain storm

I thought I knew a little bit about hay, but I realized the other day that I don't know much. I was telling my dad that I saw him out in the field plowing when I had driven by recently- after the day of the heroin joke. He said that he wasn't plowing at all, just harrowing. I thought they were the same thing, but he explained to me that harrowing is kind of like raking. You just go over the ground lightly, enough to break up all the mouse tunnels. You do this so you don't have a bumpy field to drive on all summer when you're trying to cut and bale.

So there you have it, your (our) first lesson in hay.

My dad

Hay lesson #2 That is a swather he is using to cut alfalfa.

Look at me I do know something.

Part of me thinks my dad is funny for caring so much about getting the perfect hay. It's pretty much just a hobby for him because compared to the hard work he puts into it, the payoff in dollars is pretty low. I asked him one day why he still does it and if I remember right he said "it's in my blood." He farms the land that his great-grandpa owned. He puts the hay in the barn that his dad put hay in when he was a kid. It's just what they've always done. I think it helps him stay connected to his dad and grandpa. And that's probably why he pays so much attention to detail. Maybe he wants it just right for them. I like that. I'll be really sad when he's gone with no one else to carry on the tradition. Especially not me who doesn't know "heroin" from "harrowin' "