Spiderman Pillow and More Hay

Jason has put in more than his fair share of hours on the tractor the last few days. He was complaining about the uncomfortable seat on the tractor (I will admit it does need to be replaced) and that he was tired of bouncing around on it through the fields. We had to make a run to the co-op for a few supplies so we went into the nearest store to see if they might have any seat cushions. The nearest store happened to be a Dollar General. I have to admit I've never been in a Dollar General before. If you ever need cartoon themed paper plates and cups for a birthday party my gosh they have a very wide selection.

While they had a plethora of party favors and such Dollar General did not have any seat cushions so we went to the pillow section to to find Jason a temporary substitute. We selected a Spiderman pillow. Jason really wanted a Spongebob Squarepants pillow as we are both Spongebob fans, but alas there were no Spongebob Squarepants pillows to be had. He passed on Cinderella (really Jason, you don't want to sit on a Cinderella pillow while on the tractor??) and Shrek and a few others.

We exited Dollar General with Jason clutching his Spiderman pillow and looking as happy as a five year old boy. It was a good thing he was smiling since he had to wrestle with the hay tarps again later in the day. Wrestling with the tarps definitely wiped the smile off his face. As I mentioned in our last post the hay barn is already full from the first cutting of hay, we also have hay in someone else's hay barn, and now we're down to tarps on a gravel pad.

As for me I'm happy to be done driving the hay wagon for awhile. Although my backing skills were satisfactory Jason did have a brief chat with me about riding the clutch. I will admit I took offense to this as I am perfectly capable of driving a manual shift and I know not to ride the clutch. He also likes to lecture me on engine braking. Fine. Some of the hay is from our neighbor's property and as you drive from their fields onto our farm it gets steep. The fully loaded hay wagon really pushes the truck along down the steep slopes. But I kept my foot off the clutch AND off the brakes and just let-er-rip. I thought Jason's eyes were going to bug out of his head as he watched me take his advice the first time. For myself I was just praying that the the thousand pound hay rolls on the top didn't come crashing forward onto the cab of the truck and crush me.

I am happy to report that I survived, the hay survived and stayed put and all was well. So I kept up the no clutch/no brakes approach with every load. By the last load I was so zen about the whole experience I only had one hand on the steering wheel and just zoomed along until the - ahem - engine braking finally kicked in and slowed me down.

Jason and his Spiderman pillow

The little white speck at the top of the hay is Jason dragging the 125 pound tarp; definitely not his favorite job. I'm sure Jason was thinking something along the lines of "Oh 2nd hay barn, wherefore art though??"

My view through the windshield the last couple of days

Fuzzy Punch

Wiz and Clay

Darby, B-Rad, Sebastian and Alex

Dutch and Murphy

George looking most displeased at having a bath

Missy, MyLight and Cuff Links

Tiny; that is Rocky hiding behind him

Romeo and Gus

Clayton and Toledo were having a great time