Hay in the Mist

It's been a while since we've been able to make hay. As the sun rose through a misty morning last week, I found grass cut in our main hay field and exclaimed, "Hay's down!"

This would be the second cutting, which is usually done around the Fourth of July; with the weather varying so much, it was a challenge to get it done.

A couple days later, family members helped gather squares from the New Holland baler onto two wagons, which were then pulled to the barn for unloading. I pushed the bales to the ground, a 20-foot drop. The humidity was so thick I wasn't worried about falling -- the air would catch me.

The smell was of sweet summer, fireflies rising from the grass, soft cushions under bare feet. Author and shepherd James Rebanks describes breaking open a hay bale as breaking open summer.

We're preserving summer for winter, and it starts with mist over a hay field.

Thanks for Reading!

And I hope you feel refreshed and rejuvenated for the week ahead with this moment preserved in picture and prose. Consider:

• What's your favorite summer smell?

Think of someone who enjoys summer, and share your answer and this newsletter with them.

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This Week on the Farm

We're preparing the ground for our next Christmas tree planting. Our first half acre was planted in April in the midst of lambing and calving season, so we've decided to try fall planting when things are, in general, quieter. Establishing trees in the fall comes with its own set of challenges, such as the danger of frost heaving (the trees are pushed out of the ground by freeze-thaw cycles). It's a matter of determining what trade-offs are worth it. No doubt, Meaux will help us plant trees again this fall.