My daughter has now gone home again and I am already missing
her. We farewelled her with this
gorgeous sunset.
Behind our house is a large open area that has been set
aside for a future road, and for the last couple of years the grass has been
left to grow unchecked throughout summer.
Yesterday, however, a contractor appeared in the morning and
mowed all the grass. I thought perhaps
they were going to make hay, but by lunchtime the tractor was back and rowing
it up ready for baling.
Late afternoon it got baled, so it was obviously haylage
they were making and not hay.
Haylage is made of wilted grass that is wrapped in several
layers of plastic and left to ferment.
It is a sort of cross between hay (dried stalks of grass) and silage (chopped
green grass left to ferment/pickle).
I adore the smell of new-mown grass drying in the sun, and have
been enjoying the whiffs coming in the windows from the straw that was missed
by the baler.
The scent is one of the things I love about summer 😊
Margaret.
What a fabulous sunset you captured Margaret. Thanks for the information about haylage - I had never heard of it! One is never too old to learn :)
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Maxine
Interesting. I've never heard of haylage before. I do remember the smell of silage though lol
ReplyDeleteFarmers over here almost always make haylage - the weather is often to iffy for leaving hay out for 4 or 5 days. We used to make small bale hay on the smallholding and hay making week was the most worrying time of the year!
ReplyDeleteOh, no.
ReplyDeleteAlways so sad to say good-bye.
Yes to the mowing, I love that smell, too!
Can´t wait for it - thank you for sharing I think I can smell it! (I do.) You can only top it with warm summer rain :-)
Haylage is a new term to me. I had not heard the term, nor did I know of the process.
ReplyDeleteI envy your ability to enjoy the scent of mown grass. I would be sneezing uncontrollably.
ReplyDeleteSo interesting to see your farming practices compared to ours. I have heard of haylage but typically ours goes into silos or long plastic tubes on the ground. I have never heard of it being made into bales.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy the smell because when the road comes, it will be gone. Sighhhhhh...
ReplyDeleteNow you have your lovely memories...
Nice smell. We (F AND Mr T) would want to go and lie down out there to soak up the nice smell.
ReplyDeleteSo.....every time we see those plastic wrapped rolls in the field, is it always haylage? I had always presumed it was just hay.
ReplyDeleteJust to confuse you, I believe that with today's farming practices, hay, haylage and silage can all be stored wrapped in plastic! I only know what this was because I saw them doing it.
DeleteThanks for the reply.....and for the education on haylage!
DeleteI can imagine how empty your home feels with your daughter gone back to her home. It takes a while to settle back to normal life again. Happy New Year!!!
ReplyDelete