I love hearing from students and their progress and successes after one of my courses. Rob came on my Learn to Scythe course at the beginning of June and set to making hay and hand baling it. Visit my Learn to Scythe page for details of future courses or to book a private workshop for yourself or your group.
Hi Steve,
I had to share this photo with you. It’s my first hay bale! I found the plans for the baler on an American website.
The scything is gradually getting better with practice. I am cutting the most lush grass first, which is good for the meadow but is putting me in at the deep end with the scything. There is lots of thatch and patches of Cleavers in some parts of the meadow, which is testing my technique beyond my capability at times. However, it is very satisfying to take my first (very small) crop, and I am hoping that the next batch (assuming we get another sunny spell) will be less lush and so a bit easier.
Your ‘Learn to Scythe’ book was very useful to remind me of things from the course. I retired in frustration on a couple of occasions, read the book and then returned a bit wiser each time.
These first few bales are probably too green and moist to store until winter, but the rain was coming so we had to take it in. It’s very satisfying nonetheless. Hopefully, we’ll get some longer dry spells in the coming weeks.
All the best
Rob
