• Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Patreon
  • Premium Membership
  • Services

Natural History

by Scottie Westfall

Feeds:
Posts
Comments
« All-American Independence Day Meal
Encountering the dappled one »

Felled hay

July 5, 2015 by SWestfall3

065

067

071

078

The guys who cut the hay always come this field a little late. As per tradition, the first cuttings start on Memorial Day weekend, provided it’s not too wet.

And the hay-cutters start with the hayfields along the river bottoms first, and when those are cut, attention turns to the old ridge and hill pastures.

By July, the grass has had time to grow tall. The timothy and orchard grass have gone to seed, and large swathes of the pasture are as golden as the Serengeti. When I was a child I imagined that lions stalked the tall grass in summer and that zebras and wildebeest would soon good roaring by on their migration.

But when the hay-cutters come, the grass is felled. Their mowing machines gut the grass at the base, so the long stalks fall neatly in rows to cure in the parching July sun.

Baling will come soon and then someone will drive a pickup around the field, while high school-age boys run out and fetch the the various bales.

It will be a lot of work in the hot sun.  Lots of sweat will be poured.

It is work in the heat to capture the product of photosynthesis in high summer. It is captured to feed the hoofed stock that will find itself utterly dependent upon the product of man to survive the austere months of winter.

But giving those animals sustenance during the winter means causing a disaster for just about everything else that dwells within the summer grass. The machine killed lots of things today. Little cottontails were chopped to bits. Insects were torn asunder.  Any box turtles that had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time were sliced up. Their hard shells wouldn’t be any defense against the sharp blades.

For the scavengers, this will be a repast of epic proportions. Over the next few nights, the foxes, the raccoons, coyotes, and opossums will be sifting through the felled stalks of grass. During the day, the turkey vultures will hold court over scene of death and destruction, but the ravens and crows will get their digs in, too.

On the opposite side of the hayfield, I saw a raven pecking away at some morsel of something, and with camera in hand, I tried to get a drop on it.  It saw me took to the sky, sailing into the woodland where its confederates greeted it with guttural croaks. They were about to have a raven party, and I just happened to spoil it for them.

When the hay is felled, it is obvious that high summer’s days are winnowing away. We’ll slowly sink into the Dog Days, then the balmy sweetness of September, the fiery orange and crimson of October, the bleakness of November, and short days and long nights of snow and cold.

The edict of summer is to be fruitful and multiply.

It soon will be gone.

In the temperate zone, it’s all ephemeral. As soon as the snow falls, it has melted away into mud. As soon as the grass grows tall in the fields, it is cut down for hay.

It all just courses away.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Print
  • Tumblr
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Like this:

Like Loading...

Posted in West Virginia | Tagged hay | 1 Comment

One Response

  1. on July 6, 2015 at 10:08 am massugu

    A fitting metaphor for a human life as well.



Comments are closed.

  • Like on Facebook

    The Retriever, Dog, and Wildlife Blog

    Promote Your Page Too
  • Blog Stats

    • 9,535,630 hits
  • Retrieverman’s Twitter

    • one person followed me // automatically checked by fllwrs.com 9 hours ago
    • retrievermanii.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-di… 1 day ago
    • @SergioJStalin That's like saying the Nazis had a headquarter in Moscow in 1931. LOL 3 days ago
    • one person unfollowed me // automatically checked by fllwrs.com 6 days ago
    • RT @AdamZHerman: I am no longer impressed that Nicholas Cage managed to steal the Declaration of Independence. 1 week ago
  • Google rank

    Check Google Page Rank
  • Archives

    • October 2020
    • September 2020
    • August 2020
    • July 2020
    • June 2020
    • May 2020
    • April 2020
    • February 2020
    • January 2020
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • January 2018
    • December 2017
    • November 2017
    • October 2017
    • September 2017
    • August 2017
    • July 2017
    • June 2017
    • May 2017
    • April 2017
    • March 2017
    • February 2017
    • January 2017
    • December 2016
    • November 2016
    • October 2016
    • September 2016
    • August 2016
    • July 2016
    • June 2016
    • May 2016
    • April 2016
    • March 2016
    • February 2016
    • January 2016
    • December 2015
    • November 2015
    • October 2015
    • September 2015
    • August 2015
    • July 2015
    • June 2015
    • May 2015
    • April 2015
    • March 2015
    • February 2015
    • January 2015
    • December 2014
    • November 2014
    • October 2014
    • September 2014
    • August 2014
    • July 2014
    • June 2014
    • May 2014
    • April 2014
    • March 2014
    • February 2014
    • January 2014
    • December 2013
    • November 2013
    • October 2013
    • September 2013
    • August 2013
    • July 2013
    • June 2013
    • May 2013
    • April 2013
    • March 2013
    • February 2013
    • January 2013
    • December 2012
    • November 2012
    • October 2012
    • September 2012
    • August 2012
    • July 2012
    • June 2012
    • May 2012
    • April 2012
    • March 2012
    • February 2012
    • January 2012
    • December 2011
    • November 2011
    • October 2011
    • September 2011
    • August 2011
    • July 2011
    • June 2011
    • May 2011
    • April 2011
    • March 2011
    • February 2011
    • January 2011
    • December 2010
    • November 2010
    • October 2010
    • September 2010
    • August 2010
    • July 2010
    • June 2010
    • May 2010
    • April 2010
    • March 2010
    • February 2010
    • January 2010
    • December 2009
    • November 2009
    • October 2009
    • September 2009
    • August 2009
    • July 2009
    • June 2009
    • May 2009
    • April 2009
    • March 2009
    • February 2009
    • January 2009
    • December 2008
    • November 2008
    • October 2008
    • September 2008
    • August 2008
    • July 2008
  • Recent Comments

    markgelbart on Retiring this Space
    oneforestfragment on Retiring this Space
    The Evolving Natural… on So does the maned wolf break t…
    SWestfall3 on So does the maned wolf break t…
    Ole Possum on So does the maned wolf break t…
  • Meta

    • Register
    • Log in
    • Entries feed
    • Comments feed
    • WordPress.com
  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,697 other followers

  • Pages

    • About
    • Contact
    • Patreon
    • Premium Membership
    • Services
  • Subscribe to Retrieverman's Weblog by Email
  • Revolver map

    Map

  • Top Posts

    • Were Romulus and Remus really nursed by a she-wolf?
  • SiteCounter

    wordpress analytics
    View My Stats
  • Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

    Join 1,697 other followers

  • Donate to this blog

  • Top 50 Northwest Dog Blogs

    top 50 dog blogs

Blog at WordPress.com.

WPThemes.


Cancel
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: