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Edition:
September 02, 2010
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EDITORIAL
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Wednesday, July 16, 2008
So Ike Says: Haying around July 4th festivities
• by Ike Fischer
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Having finished the first round of haying without mishap or rain, the refusal to tie one side by the Herbst's New Holland square baler resulted in a request for assistance from the Seilers for "Old Faithful" to bale up a couple hundred bales before the threat of rain gave us some needed moisture but not on the hay. "Old Faithful" performed well, the hay was baled but the rains never came.
An offer to help Roger Herbst by cutting another field to fit between the 4th of July festivities and another weather alert for Sunday was accepted and feeling buoyed by the stellar performance of the swather. I gassed it up after lunch Thursday, July 3rd, greased it and it was ready to go.
While greasing it up I noticed one of the tires was a bit low on air and a closer inspection revealed a possible break in the tire wall. Not wanting to have a flat to fix one-half mile away, I took a wheel off the grain swather to put on the hay swather, losing about a half hour doing so.
After getting out to the field about 2 p.m., the swather worked well until about 4. When I made a sharp turn a little too fast, the right side drive chain came off the sprocket. It being the first mishap in about 100 acres, I accepted it philosophically and with a handful of tools, crawled under the "beast."
On a soft bed of newly-mown sweet smelling hay and in the shade of the machine, it wasn't too uncomfortable, but bifocals don't see well looking up into dark places at arm's length, it was kind of blurred.
First I had to find the connecting link in three-foot roller chain, hoping it would be on the bottom side, but it never seems to be. However, it didn't take long to find it, mostly by feeling in the blind, but I needed a knife to extract the keeper pin which I'd failed to bring under the "beast," but had in the tool box.
After crawling out and back under after getting the knife, I managed to get the connecting link apart and the chain back on the sprocket, I tightened it a bit and put all the tools back in the tool box. I climbed into the driver's seat and looked into the gas tank to assure myself I had enough gas to finish and was surprised to see it was almost empty.
With only about 15 minutes left to cut, I was tempted to try and finish, yet didn't relish having to walk the half mile back home for gas so I drove the swather over to Roger's which was closer to get gas.
After getting back to the field I thought I had enough gas and time to cut around a small piece of reed canary to open it up for easier cutting next. With a few feet left to go I hit a patch of heavy reed canary grass and jammed the conditioner.
This is not fun. It requires crawling into the dirty part of the machine and pulling out big chunks of wedged hay until getting at the last of it with the knife, cutting away from the rollers by using a tire iron stuck between them, usually about a 15 minute job, along with considerable cussing.
This time it wasn't so bad, the belt tightener had jumped off and after putting that back where it belonged, I was able to finish just in time to get back home for supper.
As planned we were able to enjoy the festivities at FreedomFest and the fireworks after spending the morning hoeing weeds in the garden and picking strawberries.
By Saturday, July 5th, the hay was ready to bale and with badly needed rain in the forecast we hit the field with two round balers and "Old Faithful."
By 3 p.m. everything was baled and in great shape, ready for the rains which passed us by again.
At least we didn't have to bale hay Sunday. After church and lunch with the firemen, I worked on watering the gardens and strawberries, being rewarded by big luscious berries.
Having finished haying temporarily and permanently, if it doesn't rain soon, I worked on roto-tilling, hoeing weeds in the gardens and picking more strawberries.
While cutting the hay I noticed a pocket gopher had started to dig along the edge of a field. I set traps and every time I checked, found the traps snapped and covered with dirt. About the fourth day I found my trap hanging neatly over the fence next to a post with a bit of skin and hair left in the snapped trap. Sometimes a fox or coyote finds a gopher in my traps and will eat most of it there or drag it off to a den, but I don't think they are able to hang the trap over a four foot high fence.
I imagine a hawk, owl or eagle found the gopher in the trap and sat on the post while eating it and the trap got hung up on the fence by coincidence.
Another threat (or should I say promise) of showers and thunderstorms passed us by and the lawn, pastures and hayfields are starting to stress from lack of moisture. Our sandy-loam soils are the best to work with but need constant rains or irrigation and fertilizer, both becoming too expensive and impractical.
So we hope for rain when needed and no rain when not needed but it doesn't always work out.
About Ike . . .
Albert (Ike) Fischer was born June 12, 1921, in Frazee where he grew up and attended school. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II he returned to the family farm near Frazee. He married Larene Haas. Their daughter Lori and son-in-law Don Thorp, Frazee, have two sons, Martin and Roger.
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