We had been waiting for some good weather to do our first crop of hay. This morning the forecast sounded promising, and after checking it again at noon we decided to go ahead and start mowing. Ben had gotten the disc mower all tuned up and ready over the weekend. He headed down to our neighbor's fields and started to knock down the grass. While he was mowing, we got some of the other equipment ready.

My dad, Howard, worked on the rake. Ben had made a list of parts needed for the various pieces of equipment, and Dad had hit the farm machinery dealers to pick up all the necessary stuff. He replaced broken teeth on the rake, getting it ready to rake the mowed rows of hay into larger windrows, making the job shorter and easier for the custom operator of the round baler. While Dad loosened rusty nuts and bolts to put on new rubber-mounted teeth, I brought the tedder around to grease and check just in case we needed it.

I hopped on the four-wheeler and headed down the road to check on Ben's progress before starting the afternoon milking. As I pulled into one meadow, a deer stopped and stared at me as it stood just below the road. I guess it changed its mind about crossing the road, because it leapt back across the meadow and into the woods. Ben was making good progress, and I think he was enjoying himself buzzing around the meadows under the beautiful late spring sky. The grass looked nice and thick, and hopefully the yield will be good.