Making Hay While The Sun Shines

The haymaking was very late this year.  Richard, the farmer, is now semi-retired and no longer grows tobacco and sunflowers in the fields adjoining our property.  There is a big farming enterprise nearby and they come with their state of the art tractors and cut the fields and take away the hay.  They also cut Philippe's field for him.  There is another field at the side of our garden that is owned by another retired farmer in the hamlet.  He just cuts the grass once a year and leaves it.  I understand that he receives a payment from the EU for leaving the field fallow.

 A wet spring and the grass just keeps growing...

 

At last the boys and their big tractor arrive to cut the hay. 

 The hay field is almost hidden by the vines.

In no time at all the hay is turned with the tractor's spinning spiky thing. Twenty four hours later another machine comes along and swallows the hay before giving birth to giant bales, carefully positioned so that they don't roll down the hill.

All done.