Tebay, Cumbria: Getting the grass cut, baled and stored in the barn is one of the biggest and most important jobs of the yearAt least three days of hot, sunny weather are needed to make hay, and good weather is often in short supply in Cumbria. We had been watching our weather apps avidly, and a window appeared. The grass had grown long enough to make hay, the seed had set and there were no nesting birds in the fields, so it was all systems go.My son had mown the grass and "scaled it out" each day. As the grass is turned and tedded, the seeds can return to the meadow. The sheep's hooves will trample in the seed and help it germinate to revive the meadow. Unfortunately, the starter motor had gone on the tractor - all our equipment is secondhand, and most of it very old - and I was queueing at the engineer's parts counter when my son phoned to say that it was raining on the side of Blencathra where he was shepherding, and he was going to race home to get the hay in. Continue reading...
Country diary: Make hay while the sun shines? That can be tricky in Cumbria
1. červenece 2022 12:45
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Zdroj: The Guardian