Hey, Hey, Hay!

After more than average rainfall for the year, August has been completely dry.  Strangely, the temperature has been in the low 90°s, even down to a high of 89° compared to the high 90°s of July--but no rain.  It's dry, dry, dry!

Yesterday while we were working nearby, the pigs started galloping along the fence, raising a cloud of dust.  Their dust is what is highlighting the sun's rays!

Since they chewed through the bungee cords holding up their shade-tarp for the second time, their "spa corner" has been a bit hot.  Besides, they are so big now that one pig flopping in the wading pool pushes out most of the water.  Archimedes should have met our pigs!

So I turned on the hose and let the pigs play in the spray.

Here is one happy, wet pig!

Misty likes the pigs and made herself very small to touch noses through the fence.

This weather is not good for much except making hay, so we decided to start laying in our winter's supply.   The guy we bought from last year was all out because many farmers are already having to feed hay with the grass drying up.  So Herb found Scott Teems just a couple miles from us and arranged to buy 12 round bales.  That meant four trips, three bales each time.  We went over to get the first three, and Scott told us that he had to deliver a load of hay near us and would bring the rest of our bales after dinner.

So while Scott ate dinner, Herb unloaded the first three bales . . .

. . . and the pigs had a ball playing through the fence with the dogs.  They (the pigs) were excited by the tractor driving by, and they went galloping and cavorting along the fence.

I wish I had a movie camera so you could enjoy the sight of pigs spinning in circles!

This, of course, meant lots of barking from Hero as well as Zephyr racing pigs along the fence.

Too bad I didn't have the camera handy later when Scott drove up with his big rig.  The pigs went absolutely crazy, like whirling dervishes!

We were pretty happy, too, to have our nine other bales of hay roll in without having to make any more trips.  They are the light green ones on top, fresh out of the field and ready to put in the barn.

A bit of the hay fell off, green and dry and sweetly fragrant.  Scott just found some permanent customers!

 By the time we ate our dinner and got back out to put the hay in the barn, it was dark.  Herb did the fun part, spearing the bales and carrying them into the barn, while I did the no-brainer part, moving a new row of pallets into place as he finished placing a row of hay bales.

By the time we went in to bed, we had a dozen lovely bales of hay stored in the barn.  I'm sure the pigs were already passed out in their favorite spot downhill, worn out from all the excitement.