What is summer to a cattle farmer?
Well…
Hay.
It means cutting hay and gathering enough rolls to keep your cows fat & happy through the winter.
It means praying for rain at the right times, hoping no rain in the others, being wishful that none of your equipment breaks, nothing needs repairing, etc., etc., etc..
It means watching your husband bale hay from literally daylight to dark, watching headlights turn on in the distance in your “front yard” so he or your father-in-law can get the job done, it means putting supper in the fridge for your tired husband to eat when he comes in late, it means making sure he has Gatorade to take on the tractor, it means driving your babies out to see him on the tractor, it means impromptu tractor rides with daddy, etc., etc., etc..
It means feeling doubt for every decision, joy when a downpour of rain comes in the midst of the July heat, grief when something doesn’t go as planned, worry when you may not have time to get the hay off the ground before the next storm, and feeling accomplished as you get the last roll stored away for Winter as the sun sets behind the hill.
Hay season is here.
Hay season is here to stay too.
Hay season is our life.
Literally.
In life we try to gather everything we need to take care of our tribe.
•we pray for rain in the right times & seasons, we pray for sunshine in others
•we are wishful that nothing breaks down like cars or air conditioners
•we are hopeful we don’t need to repair anything from our childrens’ heartbreaks to the fender bender from the Walmart parking lot
•we watch our significant others work daylight to dark or in some cases dark to daylight on something they may or may not be passionate about
•we put things off or on the back burner like food in the fridge because things come up
•we try to be prepared
•we try to make family a priority
•we make impromptu trips, memories, and walks on the Farm Road
•we feel doubt, joy, grief, worry, and accomplished
Regardless though, we keep baling hay.
•Hurley Farms• 