July, 2024
This is my last full day here at Schafer State Park. Yep, you guessed it, I don’t want to leave. But I will be back! You can bet your boots. 🙂
I had all day today to wander around again in the big white truck and see what I could see. And so I did. Here are a few photos from the day. Rest assured, I also parked the truck and walked around the places I found to look at … getting out in the fresh air and walking feels really good.
First up, a hay field with the hay harvested and cuddled up in these white coverings. I think the white coverings are plastic, but maybe not. Do any of you reader folks know? I do read that the average weight of a round “bale” of hay is 700 to 900 pounds. That’s WAY more weight than what the average rectangular bale of hay is … around 120 pounds. But the weight (and size) are dependent on so many factors … the type of hay, the length/height of the plant that’s cut, the moisture content, how early in the season it’s harvested, how long it lies on the ground after cutting and before baling, etc. So there’s no one answer.
These round “bales” of hay were huge! My estimate was that they were about 2.5-3 feet tall and 2.5-3 feet in diameter.
And then further down the road, around another corner, after I’d wandered some more, I came upon all of this farm equipment. I wanted to get in there and look and touch and smell and wander around, but I saw no humans, and it was fenced with wire fencing, so I didn’t go.
Ah me, around yet another corner, down another road, past a few more farms and creeks and forests and other wonderful places, I came up this bridge (below) that crossed over the Satsop River … the very same Satsop River that runs along the very northern edge of the Schafer State Park. So of course I pulled over and jumped out of the truck and walked onto the bridge and took photos. Yes, one or two cars came along during the 20 minutes or so that I was there, but everyone pulled their car over into the other lane to give me plenty of safe room.
Below, the Satsop River on the east side of the little bridge.
Below, the Satsop River on the west side of that little bridge.
And the photo below is of a leaf (or three). I think I knew what type of leaf/tree/plant it was when I took the photo, but I can’t remember now. Help me. 🙂
And then further on. Who knows where I was, I don’t. Further on, I drove by another field of hay that had been harvested a few weeks ago, and then baled recently … this time the bales were the standard rectangular bales that I am familiar with from my childhood. Still, they are huge. And heavy. In my teenage years, I knew of more than one fellow around my own age who was exceptionally strong and healthy, but was damaged permanently from work in the hay fields, from lifting dozens of bales of hay that weighed more than 100 pounds. And yet … and yet, those fields of hay smelled so sweet. I wish I could share the smell of them here online.
While I was standing beside the road to take the photo above, a local farmer drove by on the road in his tractor. He stopped! We chatted. He asked if I was having truck problems and that’s why I stopped. I said “No, I wanted to take time to enjoy the fields and the air and the birds and not just drive past with a quick glance out the window.” And then I asked about growing hay, and harvesting, and things like moisture content. He said more and more hay farmers are “baling” their hay in round bales because they can then more easily be lifted without having the bale fall apart, whereas the rectangular bales occasionally fall apart. On the other hand, to encase the round bale in plastic, the moisture content must be absolutely perfect (and extremely low) since a moisture content that’s too high, when encased in plastic, will rot the hay … whereas rectangular bales NOT encased in plastic can be stored in buildings where the moisture in the air can be controlled. And he said other stuff too. He really liked that I paid attention to the fields, and to the work that people did to grow the crops. He said some visitors honk loudly as they pass him at full speed, some gesturing rudely because of how slow the tractor goes. He said it was refreshing to find a friend on the road. I told him I agreed, that I really liked that he stopped and offered to help if help was needed, and that he shared part of his life with me.
Life can be so wonderful. I find wonderful things to see and do around just about every corner of the roads I travel. And I find wonderful friends too.
Down another road, around another corner, there was this Christmas tree farm. It was HUGE, hundreds of acres, maybe thousands.
Ah, and then, as I was heading back towards the campground, I passed the cemetery just outside the small town of Satsop. The big white truck is on the right in the photo below.
Jonathan and Bella (Sargent) Valentine.
Bessie C. Quick, 1913-1930.
But then, down the road, around yet another bend in the road, was this wonderful barn …
The roof of this barn looked like the roof of the barn from the last blog post, but that roof was a white roof. Maybe there’s someone in the area that knows how to build these huge barns. They are huge! Three-four stories tall compared to a house. Handsome stuff. 🙂
And then, just before I got back to the campground, on yet another road, I heard the noise of a tractor so I slowed down around the next curve in the road. What a treat. So this is how they pick up those 700 pound round bales. With a tractor that has a specially designed contraption on the front. How cool.
Finally, back at the campground, I settled into my trailer/home and rested a bit. Then I went for one last walk through the campground and enjoyed one last view of the Satsop River. Tomorrow morning I hitch up and head home.
That farmer was smart to stop and talk to you. You are a nice person! And yes the wrapping is plastic. It’s white because darker colors absorb heat, and white reflects heat so the hay stays a more even temperature/moisture. And that means less oxygen enters the bales too, and that’s a good thing. Also, if the bales are outside and it rains, the white plastic will help keep the hay dry, until it can be moved to covered storage. And bales wrapped in plastic keep their leaves and other structure whereas unwrapped bales tend to lose their outer leaves. Leaves hold the nutrients, not the stems. So there are lots of reasons to wrap your bales. And, if you have the equipment to lift those monster heavy round bales, then you can move massive amounts of hay much faster than moving the rectangular bales. So there are lots of good reason to wrap huge round bales, but you have to have the equipment to wrap them, and move them, and that equipment is expensive! So, it’s a choice. Oh, and generally the round wrapped bales are called “silage” bales. I don’t know why. Great photos!! And a great report!!
Howdy Ann! Sounds like a great time of beauty and adventure!
Love ya, Jack and Melaine
My grandparents had hay fields, all harvested into rectangular bales of hay because the technology wasn’t there yet for the round bales. I LOVED the smell of new mown hay! My brother and sister and I would play in the fields of new mown hay, roll in it, toss it in the air, and our grandfather would come out and watch and laugh. He loved it too. Oh my gosh, I love those memories. Thank you!
You always find such cool stuff! And the people who comment here are so wonderful.
Have to admit … I wanted Bessie C. Quick’s headstone to read ……. Bessie B. Quick (Bessie be quick). Love to Bessie and all who knew her.
Really like that old green John Deere tractor in that yard. Hope it still works.
Your stories and photos are brilliant! So enjoyable. I have seen round hay bales here in England as well.
I often visit cemeteries too. Some of my friends wonder why I do that. I think I like the feeling of knowing or seeing even just a tiny fraction of who the people were who came before me, before us, who tilled their fields, sewed their clothes, printed books, managed businesses, painted pictures (and houses), developed our legal system, raised us (and our ancestors), and took care of their communities.