Haying

On Saturday morning, I got up bright and early to help some of the neighbors with haying. The neighbors, Sylvie and Benoit, moved to BC from France so that they could keep horses, sheep, and do various other kinds of farming. They have some big, beautiful horses on the farm, but their size means they burn through quite a bit of hay:


To keep up with the demand, they harvest hay from their own land. A hay-baling tractor came around on Thursday and made small, rectangular bales. Our job was first to move them into piles of 6 or so, then we drove the truck through and loaded them up. They get piled in pretty high:




After loading the truck, we then drove back to the barn where they will be stored until the winter. This basically meant that we started loading bales onto the floor of the barn, and stacked them in a brick pattern until the field was clear. This was about 10-12 trips with two trucks, and by the end you had to climb up the hay structure we created to continue the pile. I could touch the ceiling of the barn, the hay was stacked so high.



While this was an enjoyable, challenging experience, I have to say I was beat afterwards. We worked from 8 until about 1 or 1:30 in the afternoon. It got pretty hot because you need to work in gloves, long pants, and long sleeves. If you don't take such precautions, the hay scratches you to bits. I actually meant to post about this experience last night, but I was so tired that I fell asleep at around 8:30 and didn't wake up until 6:30 this morning!

After we finished haying and having our turn in the shower, I had a very pleasant surprise in store. Sylvie cooked us lunch, and hosted us for a meal! I didn't take a picture of the house because I thought it might be a bit rude to do so, but they live in a cottage that might as well be in the French countryside. The door handles, light fixtures, floor plan, and the furniture all reminded me of being in France. The back garden was perfectly manicured, vibrantly green with highlights of colorful flowers, and a view of the mountains in the distance. I could see why they were willing to leave the French countryside for British Columbia! The meal was also incredible. I love the leisurely dining style of Southern Europe--there was a selection of cheese, several kinds of couscous/quinoa/pasta salads, freshly sliced avocado, potato and egg salad, three different kinds of olives, and plenty of cold beverages.

Here's the best I could do without treating their house like a tourist destination:


Finally, here's one I took of another farm on the drive home: