Hay Run!

"Some old fashioned things, like fresh air and sunshine, are hard to beat."

-Laura Ingalls Wilder



 

We need a truck.  But before we decided to be wannabe farmers, we were parents of small children, so we bought a mini-van.  So our "beater" or "ole, pick-up truck" is disguised as a Japanese made mini-van. 

 

Today, we took out the middle seats of the mini-van and drove to Farmers Andy and Barbara's place to get four bales of hay! 

 

*** (an aside) J met these two lovely farmers, by chance, when he answered a Craigslist ad they had posted (hay for sale) a few months ago.  Some of you may also remember that we found our current rental home though a Craigslist ad, way over three years ago.  Who knows what adventure Craigslist will lead us on next?!

 

Farmer J and I were in the front of the van, then the hay, then the boys in the back.  The boys said the hay got a little itchy and scratchy at times... but for the most part, it was a great trip.  And who notices a little hay when you are drinking a milkshake made with milk from the first place white milk winner at the world dairy expo?  Not us! 

 

We got healthy hay for our animals, a tour of Farmer Andy and Barbara's amazingly beautiful (and tidy) farm (including seeing a day old baby calf (that already weighed more than JJ), many baby Suffolk lambs (and mamas) and a 2000 + lb bull) that expands hundreds of acres of beautiful oak savannah/prairie AND some refreshing lemonade and snacks.  Throw in some vitamin D from the sunlight... and even some rosy cheeks and foreheads (forgetting that we do sometimes need sunblock in the northern Midwest), some fresh air and..... Ahhhhhh.... a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

 

And our furry and feathered friends loved the excitement (and afternoon snack) of the new hay!