Wife left me ssooooooooooo.

[pitw]

Wife left me[again ]and that allows one to learn and teach at the same time.  Saturday the boys removed an engine from my favorite truck

The rear main seal had started puking oil at the rate of 1 quart per 15 miles so needed done.  The look on their faces after the job was done and it actually ran was worth more than most anything money can buy. :D  :D
Then we made some money by making some hay using this old unit


That cost soooooooooo much less than my neighbors unit he did the rest of my field with.


Hiring kids to help haul the bales is a win win situation as they need coin too and I need not broken back from lifting 1,500 bales myself anymore.



The young lady helping with the bales is as tough as any I've ever met as she was the only one besides me who didn't want gloves.  I'd also be willing to lay wagers that she could take any average boy of her age in any fight.   
We don't need to make the bales but do it because we can.  We make enough for our own use and then sell the rest to pay for a ski trip to the mountains during the winter.  This year we had a new wrinkle thrown at us as the wife had put the bales up for sale on some site and I received a call from a lady who lives 10 hours away.  Seems she is getting married the end of August and wants bales for seating her guests[Weirder than a plaid rabbit].  She is getting married 20 miles away from our house and I asked what she planned on doing with the hay when done.  she had no idea so I suggested we would charge her $2 per for the use of the bales[+ the dollar I paid the kids to haul,stack and tarp them] and she would also have to pay the lads $3 per to haul them to and from her venue.  To my total amazement she called this morning agreeing to the terms. Works out to $6/bale and she wants 150 which made sure that what I seen Sunday morning at 5am is true.

[HuntnCarve]

Barry, that sure does bring back some memories for me.  Tossing hay bales all summer in Western PA as a kid.  I earned $70 when I was 15 years old.  Went out and bought a Marlin 336 .30-30 deer rifle.  Still have the rifle and will never part with it. 

Our fields are much more hilly, but much shorter in length.  Don't see many small balers in these parts like we used to.  Folk went to the 1500 Lb square bales, or round ones.  Glad to see the boys helping out and learning a thing or two from you.  You should be very proud of them.

Dave

[FinsnFur]

Ahhh good times
Teaching them boys to spin a wrench is going to go a long ways. You already have SO MUCH to be proud of those boys for.

I remember my step Dad who passed 11 years ago today making me stay home nights and weekends to help him tear the motor out of something and fix it. His van, his truck, the boat...ugh!.God I hated it, and I hated him for making me do it.
Looking back I cant thank him enough and now never will, for the things he has taught me. It has saved me a pile of money.

[trailtwister]

That a MF 1080?
I did it on our farm for many a year had a 1954 Case and a International T45 baler, later switched to a Allis WD.
Hard to find boys today that will work on a farm. Friend in Wisconsin refuses to hire the boys as they don't treat his equipment with respect but the girls he hires do. He only does the bigger round bales.
Uncle in the UP of Michigan had so much trouble with boys working one day and not showing up again except to be paid for that day.
Bought a hay stacker and does it all alone now. fill the trailer up back it in the hay barn and unload. has a bale carrier to move the hay from the hay barn to the feed lot.



  Al

[Okanagan]

Pitw, Good on your and your boys.  Great pics. 

I'll admit that they don't bring back good memories for me.  One of my worst hay memories was filling up a hay shed in Eastern Oregon to the last layer under a corrugated tin roof, when it was 114 outside.   Loading a truck in the heat and dust of the field was a relief compared to stacking in the stifling dusty hay barn.

I've always thought that the two greatest labor saving devices in my lifetime have been hay handling machinery and word processors. 

[pitw]

The tractor is a new to me Massey 165 that I bought just for this type of project.  Haying like this in small lots is fun but I agree that to feed many animals it is work.  Because the family that helped us out is soooooo much fun to be around we now have a couple days of play at the lake planned.  This will involve me doing the boat driving while the youngsters enjoy getting wet and their arms pulled off. 

[FinsnFur]

I love that rolling terrain.  And I'm sure the canines do too