Our first task yesterday at the farm was to "hay and water" the animals, but as soon as that relatively simple chore was finished, we had to unload the wagon above into the hay barn. In short, it's some of the hardest work I've ever done.
One person steps up onto the wagon and throws the hay down; another (or more if you're lucky) drags the bales of hay into the barn and heaves them up into brickwork piles that begin to take shape like this:
About half way through the first wagon, Anderson snickered as he informed me that another wagon was scheduled to arrive at 11:30. Ugh. And sure enough, after we finished the first and paused for lunch, a second wagon arrived.
It's worth mentioning that the farmer who delivers the hay, seated on the tractor above and known to Abbe and Anderson as "Nipper" (full name's Bob Nipper), is a tender 86 years of age...
After we finished the second wagon around 2:30 or so (by which time the temperature had climbed into the 90's), the bales in the barn were piled high above our heads. Another wagon or two, and there will be hay enough to feed the goats throughout winter. So yes, it's an important task. But man is it a hard one.
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