My Happy Place - Making Hay

 Today, Helen Hollick shares her happy place, making hay!

 

My Happy Place ...Is the ‘top field’ of our North Devon Farm. It’s called that for obvious reasons: it’s the one at the top of the steep (very steep!) lane.

At about 5 acres it is the largest of our 13-acre farm, and the best one for growing the hay for our horses because it has the most sunshine and drains well. (A must given the heavy rain we seem to get a lot more of lately.)

Hay making can happen any time between June and August, depending on the weather, although we have cut, once, as late as the first week of September. That old saying ‘make hay while the sun shines’ is perfectly true – hay has to be cut then turned and dried, turned and dried again before baling. Bale damp or wet hay and within a few weeks you’ll have poor quality, dusty fodder – or worse still, a fire on your hands from spontaneous combustion!

For two years running we’ve had the local Honey Farm ‘graze’ their bees from this field – a line of hives set against the hedge for the bees to forage at will. In 2020 the bees saved our hay crop – the grass was late in growing but once the bees came they busied themselves among the clover and meadow flowers with the result, come harvest, that the grass was fluffed up – and we had a small, but best quality ever hay harvest. And we had 24 jars of honey as a thank you from the honey farm!

It’s hard work bringing the hay in but there is nothing nicer than my husband and I going up to the field as dusk is falling to sit for a while on the bench we have put in one corner. To sit and watch the sun setting over the sweep of hills that form our little part of the Taw Valley, to listen to the birds twittering as they seek their roosts – and if we are very lucky we might even see a snow-white barn owl gliding, silent, across our field...

© Helen Hollick

 

Set in the 1970s  my Cosy Mystery 'WhoDunIt'

#1 A MIRROR MURDER:  https://getbook.at/MirrorMurder

#2 A MYSTERY of MURDER: http://mybook.to/AMysteryOfMurder

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Website: https://www.helenhollick.net/

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My Happy Places you might have missed…

 Through the Lens

Hubby, Garden and Dogs

With George on the Heath

Wonderful Years at Sea

 Other guest who will share their Happy Place in the coming weeks.

 Michael Reidy

Suzy Turner

Ian Thomson

 As always, thank you for stopping by. Wishing you a fabulous day and I hope the sun is shining on your face and in your heart.

Hugs

 Pauline x