I went out to the farm again, yesterday. It was a lot of fun. The last time I went we were fixing an old mower (everything out there is circa 1917), and this week they had already cut the alfalfa. They had this ancient machine that was led by two draft horses. It scooped up the hay and then plopped it down onto a wagon. I, along with two other men, would then take the hay and stack it up on the wagon. It was quite difficult to keep your balance, all the while you are in close quarters with two other men who are swinging sharp pitch forks.
Once we had the wagon full, we used a single draft horse and a pulley system to haul loads of the hay up into the barn. It was a very interesting setup. I know Dr. Sidwell (the Center’s director) was taking pictures of the process, and I’ll try to track some of them down.
And then of course I also gave some pony rides, chopped some wood (I’ve got the blood blisters to prove it), and tried to keep the boys busy.
The last thing I did before I left our van, was take off my watch (I’ve got to be ‘in character’, and a digital watch doesn’t work with overalls) and leave it in the car. All afternoon I didn’t know what time it was. And that was just fine with me.
