haying

One of the things that the kids love the most is getting to ride in the tractor with Daddy. The great thing about this ranch is that they don’t care if our kids go to work with Jason on days when he is doing something like sitting in the tractor or checking fence or irrigating. So many places don’t allow it. This is yet another area where we are blessed.

Since they had learned how to check hay, you can read about that experience here, http://wp.me/p26rVk-86, It was now time to see how the bales were made. When Jason was baling, the kids took turns riding with him. Learning the ins and outs of baling hay and the workings of the tractor thrilled them. Or maybe it was more of just being with Dad in the huge tractor and not so much the learning part. That was probably just my dorky wishful thinking.

Here is what they saw over a couple hours of tractor time.

The pivots have been moved out-of-the-way to make room for…

The monster.

The rows are picked up by the baler,

and when full enough, it in turn spits out huge hay bales.

Row after row of them.

Now this baling thing is pretty easy right? You just steer the tractor and baler around the field. No big deal.

I guess there is the small matter of all of these buttons….

and all of those levers….

and the floor mat that keeps shifting around.

Ya, a piece of cake this baling thing is!

The only thing that the kids enjoyed more than riding in the tractor, was getting to climb around on the bales. Not the easiest feat considering how big they are.