Makin' Hay

Over the weekend, I was lucky enough to stop by Arkansas on my way to Austin from Washington. The fam was putting up some hay at the Thompson place, or the "Circle T" as we often call it.

I haven't been in the hay field in nearly a year, so I was feeling the itch to drive a tractor around in circles in the hot, Arkansas weather.

The Circle T is a great place. There's these great pine trees that stand alone at the top of the hill next to the road. It is my understanding that there used to be about 500 of these things, but only these few remain. My mom's old horse, Silver, is actually buried up there. Tombstone and all.

The old house on the place is a story all its own.


Putting up Bermuda grass hay is a long day's work, but is filled with the sweet smells of the fresh hay, along with the sensory explosions of the setting sun and its golden color on the fields and sky. It's oh, so poetic.


My mom and dad will work out there all day. We'll cut it, fluff it, sometimes fluff it again, rake it, then bale it. Then we'll come along with tractors with "grabbers" and grab 10 bales at a time, load it onto the trailer, then haul it back to the barn and unload it the same way.

This picture below is somewhat deceiving because Mom is usually riding the oldest tractor known to man. It's a 1957 International, but it still runs really nice.
We have often worked long into the night loading hay and stacking it in the barn to keep the moisture from spoiling the quality.


There's nothing better than coming in after a long day in the hay field. You're hot, sweaty, sticky and covered in hay particles, and you can usually still feel the effects of the sun on your skin all day. The coolest part about all of this process is the whole family typically has a role in getting the hay from the field to the barn. Whether it's bringing Razorback Pizza to the field, driving the truck and trailer that's being loaded, or maneuvering the tractor and picking up bales, it usually takes all of us to do it.

Then, if the Lord and the weather are willing, you do it again the next day.