In The Stackyard.
Posted: Thursday, 07 September 2006 |
Yesterday was a good day with nice spells of sunshine while the day before was extremely wet. I remember how we required a few good days one after the other during the harvest time; but it appears to me that you seldom get that now. This being duly considered, how can I possibly declare that Climate Change is not genuine.
On the croft before the corn harvesting started in earnest, haystacks were still being made in the stackyard - it was hard work, but I loved it. Think of it, a good fresh sunny day at the end of August or the beginning of September and the day's work commences. First the stone base on which the stack was to be placed was to be laid out, while the first rick arrived from the fields, and it was then my job to lay it down on the newly made base and so on till it got so high that now some one had to be on top to build the top half right up to the peak, the hay being forked up by the person below. Each of those big haystacks took at least ten or more hay - field ricks and at least two were made in a day.
The hay from the fields had to be quite mature or else the stack could take heat; how I hated taking hard work apart to dispense of the steaming heat or the hay would have been ruined and disasterous to the economy of a croft.
When the days work was done there was a tremendous sense achievement and wellbeing and an awareness brimming health. The sleep of the just prevailed that very night. Consider that these latter days the medical profession are having to dispense pills for sleep, as never before.
The procureing perfectly managed crops was of paramount importance to the crofter, as there was no margin for any mistakes or losses. The need to buy in later on was an unnecessery and unwanted expense.
The next step for the crofter would be the corn harvesting even though some hay still remained in ricks. It was really a matter of getting a sort of overall balance.
On the croft before the corn harvesting started in earnest, haystacks were still being made in the stackyard - it was hard work, but I loved it. Think of it, a good fresh sunny day at the end of August or the beginning of September and the day's work commences. First the stone base on which the stack was to be placed was to be laid out, while the first rick arrived from the fields, and it was then my job to lay it down on the newly made base and so on till it got so high that now some one had to be on top to build the top half right up to the peak, the hay being forked up by the person below. Each of those big haystacks took at least ten or more hay - field ricks and at least two were made in a day.
The hay from the fields had to be quite mature or else the stack could take heat; how I hated taking hard work apart to dispense of the steaming heat or the hay would have been ruined and disasterous to the economy of a croft.
When the days work was done there was a tremendous sense achievement and wellbeing and an awareness brimming health. The sleep of the just prevailed that very night. Consider that these latter days the medical profession are having to dispense pills for sleep, as never before.
The procureing perfectly managed crops was of paramount importance to the crofter, as there was no margin for any mistakes or losses. The need to buy in later on was an unnecessery and unwanted expense.
The next step for the crofter would be the corn harvesting even though some hay still remained in ricks. It was really a matter of getting a sort of overall balance.
Posted on Island Wanderer at 01:34
RSS Feed