Any other harvest widows out there?!

[Lala1980]

Hello. Lonely and frustrated harvest widow would love to chat/vent with other farmers' WAGs...

Sun shining here again today. Yes that is two days in a row!

DH is way baling and wrapping elswhere today so he can't just stand and look at our hay until it is ready to bale!

We can too! Massive push to get the rest of the OSR in today/tomorrow/sat before the rain comes back on Sunday I reckon.

Lovely day in Fife yesterday despite dh suffering agri-envy at every crop we passed.
"Oh, they are harvesting their barley "
"Oh, they have planted brassicas "
"Oh, they are much further on than us "
He even rolled up his trousers and paddled almost happily but was elated to get back to the farm. The bairn and dd pushed each other in got soaked and no hostelry would allow us in to eat.
Returned to a pile of soot in the living room. Chimney had boaked up it's contents over everything.

Wuffling today.

Afternoon all!
After a wet week, harvest is about to re-start with avengence.
Bye bye DP! So much for date night tonight lol!
What shall I do instead?!
Anyone about to watch our dressage team take individual gold?!
Go Charlotte!

Glad you had a nice day gentleotter. Why is it farmer are always convinced that everyone else is further on/richer/has a better crop than them?! I have to watch my DH when we're driving together as he gets so distracted by combines/tractors/fields he'll forget he's driving.

He's also fond of telling people that on our honeymoon (we were on the Orient Express mind, so you think he'd have other things on his mind) the highlight was seen no less that 19 combines in France and Italy going at least 2 weeks earlier that us. Needless to say that's not the highlight of the honeymoon I remember!

Please can you experienced farmers WAGs help me with my stupid insecurities.
Why is it that I feel rejected during harvest even though my sane had knows it's his job not his preference...

Freerangelady - Our honeymoon was similar! We went to Holland and DH got excited at all the dairy cows in the fields!

I have taken to doing all the driving. Then DH can window-farm to his hearts content. We went down to Devon & Cornwall to see friends and he spent the whole time commenting on other peoples crops!

Lala1980 - it takes a while to come to terms with. Eventually you get used to it. In our early days, I had many a temper tantrum quite a few challenges to adjust to the farming way of life. It will be get better. :)

Thanks freerangelady, it was lovely.

Lala - I think the harvest is one of the most important incomes and the more made now, the less has to be bought in for winter and /or sold.
I have known farmers who planned their children be born during convenient times ie not during lambing, harvest or calving.

It does get easier after harvest as the pressure is off to have to work full tilt (although farmers tend to go and find something else equally time consuming all year round but that is another thread).

Are you able to go and sit in the tractor with him or do bailing? They become so intensely focussed just now that everything else seems secondary to the harvest.
Sorry if I sound like a farmer apologist but I know they generally tend to throw their all at this time of year, neglecting everything else including themselves.

And sorry to bring up it up but winter is just round the corner and the nights are longer...

The other thing Lala, how "open" is your DH to being "distracted" for 1/2 an hour at lunchtime? speaking from experience they often have more "energy" then...

Lol QuiteTiger - lunchtime?!
I think I'll become a nun until at least September!!!

5.30 am, Lala, so the neighbours tell me.

Lala - do you get involved in the farm at all? Although I know his family is my dh's priority I have to say, I wouldn't want to know went he'd place the farm as that's also high up!

He only thing is - 3 yrs back on the farm and I get nearly as obsessed as him!

freerangelady our honeymoon was in Austria. On one of the few occasions we surfaced from our room we watched a field of hay being baled and DH was v impressed with the ladies who came out after the baler in their bikinis with rakes and raked up all the last bits! He thought it might be taken on as an idea here....!

Lalagrin and bear it and do lots of lovely things for yourself. When I was deserted last night I watched a really girly film that usually I wouldn't be able to do without much tutting from DH. Am I right that you are pg? I'm afraid you will probably feel very trapped next year when the baby is here as you won't be able to come and go so easily if little one is in bed, so develop some strategies for dealing with it if you can.

That's not to say we probably all feel a bit abandoned from time to time no matter how long we've been farming WAGS.

One day can't think I will tell you about when I had DD when DS was only 20 months old. I had had another CSection, and the herdsman went off sick so DH milked twice every day for the first three weeks of her life (and this was in December too). Oh, and being an elective section meant her birthday was chosen because "tuesdays are difficult because I have to take the calves to market so it will have to be a wednesday" !!

We honeymooned just down the road for a night. The 50 others in our marriage were due a brucellosis test the next day.

When ds was born and we came home on day 2 after Csect, dh had the cutter ready for me to do some topping as it is usually me who cuts. He thought I could 'keep the baby in the little space at the front'. He seemed taken aback at my refusal as I had been cutting just before I went in to have the baby.

In all fairness, dh has been a hay widower the last few years as he was felled by illness so eldest ds and I usually do it. Am enjoying the time off this year but will be bailing on Friday. I love it and find peace doing it.

I won't be bailing tomorrow, I'll be rowing up. DFIL has spent all day today turning the hay, in the hope that it will make. Otherwise I'll be rowing up for haylage. DH won't let me manage his precious darling baler, because he's scared I'll break it.

I am SO very glad you all live my life! It makes things very much less "alone".

A lot of my non-farming friends don't get it. There is one in particular that seems to think DH and I can just drop everything at 15 minutes notice and go out on the piss for the evening. She doesn't realise that even something as simple as going to the cinema is organised 2 days in advance and threats are made so DH doesn't start another job 5 minutes before we're due to go is in on time to have a shower and get out. She seems to think that all DH does is look over the gate at his wheat that is growing with a bit of straw in his mouth going "ooo-arrr". As for going away on holiday, that's a 6 month military exercise just for a long weekend away. which I end up organising and deciding where to go.

And as for the pregnancy planning thing... I've just found out I'm pg, and when I told DH, he did the calculation and his exact words were "Oh God, it's due when the maize is due to go in"!!

Congratulations QuietTiger

ohh found you, i am dairy farmers wife. is lovely to read this and see it is not just me !

Welcome Moocowmrs. :) We're all coming out of the woodwork now!

How many of us are there now? I make it...

Lala1980
Moocowmrs
QuietTiger (me)
Ladyflip
Gentleotter
Freerangelady
Cantthinkof1
notheroldie
wearymotherof6
abitwobblynow
Fieldette
ladymercy
forfoxsglaciermints

And to think, Lala, you wondered if there was anyone out there in your OP!!

And thank you Ladyflip. :)

Congratulations, QuietTiger!

Quick hide everyone. There is a thread in AIBU about a farmer who has just spread "fertiliser" in a field next to someones garden.

I'm tempted to ask if it's human sludge, pig slurry, cow slurry or solid muck. as if she would know the difference

Although, DH is prone to spreading slurry on days our neighbour is having BBQ's because he can't stand her and she keeps making complaints about the smell...

Hello lovely farming ladies. Great respect to you all. ( I worked on an old fashioned horse powered farm for a while. So I have some idea of what it's all about. )
May I ask for some insider information? As a horse person?
In your opinion, what's the hay crop like this year? There's always tonnes of speculation amongst the equine set round here. The latest theory is that prices will be even higher than last year because although it's been a good growing season, it's just rotting in the field! What's your take on the subject?

And GentleOtter what's 'wuffling' please?