You've probably noticed, but it's been raining. Nearly every day this whole month, which has put all the hay makers and crop planters behind schedule. There's hardly any hay from last year to be had from anyone. We made it through the winter by buying hay that was left over from the year before last, from Joe, but a big percentage of the hay in those round bales is moldy and ruined from sitting outside for an entire year. We were lucky to get it though, because many cows in Kentucky starved last winter because of lack of good hay. I'm afraid this year may be even worse if we can't get a few days in row without rain.
After we returned from our trip to NYC, we had nearly three days of no rain, so Brandon cut a small field of grass, and raked it up for me to feed to the goats and donkeys. A neighbor stopped by to offer to cut the rest of our hay in exchange for two thirds of the harvest. At first we said no, we need all our hay, which we do, but as the weather hasn't cooperated, and Brandon has more art trips lined up, we changed our mind and made a deal. We tried hard to talk the hay man into a fifty-fifty split, but he insisted it wasn't worth his time, fuel, and labor costs if he couldn't get at least two thirds. I'm hoping with his big equipment he can get it all harvested at once if the forecast will cooperate. A third of the hay might be better than none.
The hay man said he would make small square bales instead of big round ones, which are easier to use, but he said he hopes to sell each of his bales for six dollars each. Yikes! I have a feeling I'm going to be buying my own hay back unless we can get a good second harvest later this summer and collect it ourselves. Poor Brandon agonized over deciding to let the hay man harvest our hay. Brandon loves to mow, rake, and harvest our hay, so giving that chore over to someone else isn't a relief to him. Our good neighbor let the hay man come one year and was not satisfied with his entitled attitude to his property, and still complains about it years after. When Brandon confessed that we had made a deal with the hay man, our good neighbor warned, "It's hard to quit with that guy once you get started with him." What does that mean?
While our small batch of hay was drying in the sun, I took advantage of the nice weather and did some much needed painting. The raw wood on my crib and chicken coop got a coat of nice grey paint that was given to us by a friend. The giant bucket of paint said "garage door" on the side. Now my coop matches their house!
Painting with a flock of chickens milling around isn't ideal. I had to keep my paint pan covered to prevent curious beaks, and they insisted on kicking up dirt and old hay onto the newly painted surfaces. But, now the wood is protected by several coats of paint, and the chickens don't mind if the paint has an interesting texture.
I also painted the outhouse door and lid to the outhouse potty. There's still paint left, so I might be able to paint the mobile coop too, if I can find the time when the sun will shine.
The mobile coop houses my young meat birds and Turkey. The turkey has a sore foot. I'm not sure what happened, but its foot swelled up and it couldn't run away from the guineas, who chase it and pull its tail. I've been letting the chickens out in the morning and making Turkey stay in the coop during the day. It looked so pitiful I was sure it wasn't going to live, but after a few days of peaceful rest, it's standing again and asking to be let out of solitary confinement. Maybe it will be okay after all.
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