Square Bales 101

Today was spent running the baler. The "Wheel Line" field has been cut, flipped, round baled, square baled, and hubby is stacking as I type... it's almost ready for the water to be put back on. And then in about a month or so we'll be doing it all over again. But in that month we have a bunch of other fields to get to!

Here's the baler I ran. We call her "Shake & Bake" because it's hot, dusty, noisy, and you shake like crazy in it.

This is what I see from the cab, the window isn't the cleanest and I was "on the move."

That front tire just barely touches the hay as you're picking it up.

Before you even start you have to put the "pickup" down, engage the "engager," put it in gear, put the throttle full speed ahead, release the clutch, and you're away!

You not only have to pay attention to that front tire, you also have to count how many times this certain thingy (I don't have a clue what it's called but I put an arrow in the picture) goes clunk, clunk, clunk as it rises (you aim for around 16) and then it falls and starts again. You then know you have a good 70 pound bale of hay coming out the back, or at least that's what my FIL tells me :) There's also a ground travel lever you are constantly adjusting because of this clunker thing. Too many clunks, ground travel speed up, too few, ground travel slow down... yeah I'll get this figured out :)

So you think you got it all down pat? I almost forgot, there is one gauge on the dash you also have to keep an eye on, the PSI one. Don't pay attention to any of the other gauges because I haven't a clue whether they work or not. "Just under 250," is what Pops tells me (I just pay attention and listen... well most of the time).

Now you just keep going 'round and 'round until you get to the last row. But don't forget to constantly look back in case something goes wrong. One time, a few years ago, I was merrily baling away and suddenly hubby is waving his arms at me, I could tell he wasn't just being friendly. That "clunker" I spoke about earlier was only doing about three clunks and falling, apparently that makes for awfully tiny bales. I personally thought they were rather cute, all tiny and wrapped in baler twine, and really easy lifting :)

Alongside me today was my FIL, Pops. It goes way faster with two balers and if we're lucky the other baler is up for it. Because she is a tad older than "Shake & Bake" and her bales are a bit looser we call this one Lucy. It's nice to run Lucy on a hot day as long as you remember a hat and sunscreen, but at the end of the day I have hay dust stuck to me so bad I don't think I'll ever come clean, mind you Shake & Bake can be just as bad. Let me try to explain just how one (me) feels... ever rolled around in insulation, dipped yourself in syrup, and then added a coating of whole wheat flour? It's sorta like that :) Let me tell you a shower feels really good at the end of the day!