Our bale count yesterday was 661; the temperature held steady at 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
Farmer Jeremy attests that the hottest part of the day is 5 p.m., as by this time the sun has had all afternoon to bake the earth. My own experience had not convinced me that 5 p.m. is in fact the hottest part of the day, but under this premise we started baling at about 1:30, so as to avoid the worst of the heat.
Farmer Jim drove the tractor and baler; Farmer Jeremy ferried wagons; Kyle (a Penn State ag student off for the summer who is the farm's go-to-guy for hard work at 7 feet tall and 300 pounds of muscle) stacked the bales; and I hooked the bales and passed them back to him.
The best thing about working in the heat is that it supercharges your appreciation of the basic. Water never tasted so sweet as yesterday at 3 p.m. The bag of salty potato chips I dumped down my throat at 4:3o was the most nourishing I've met.
After four hours out on the wagon, I was glad when it was over.
In other news, Farmer Gary is on vacation in Tennessee. He reports this about the trip: "This is more fun than baling hay on a hot day."
