haymaking

Please forgive me, but are you absolutely sure this is hay? It does rather look like wheat. The bound sheaves were stacked together in stooks (seen to left and right) then pitched onto the cart and taken to the rick-yard to be built into thatched ricks awaiting threshing. Or perhaps at this date (late 19th C. or early 20th. C ?)the sheaves might have been on their way directly to a traction-engine driven threshing machine.

Jack Falstaff Thank you for your comment. Our information regarding this image came directly from the back of the photograph, stating that it was showing the process of making hay.

Museum of Hartlepool I don't think the person who wrote on the reverse of your photograph was a farmer! In the interests of accuracy and information for future use in an increasingly urbanised world - in which such pursuits are no longer even a memory - would it be very impertinent of me to suggest that you get a second opinion before it's too late?

wonderful!

This is a great photo!

Gursky eat your heart out

...nice.

<3

Why would you want to climb way up on that bail of hay? And couldn't that be a bad place to park if a strong wind came from the opposite direction?

It is a great place to get naughty.

The ladder may still be in place from the process of making the haystack. A well-made, evenly shaped haystack, with the hay firmly packed into place from the ground up, could withstand most winds without damage. I am curious about the oblong shape of this haystack. The shape is unlike the round haystacks that were usually made inside a large cage . Yet, the sides of this haystack are quite straight and it's very tall so if it was done freeform, it's a masterpiece.

And here I thought they were putting the finishing touches on the country drive-in theater :) There are enough bulges here and there that I'd believe it was free-form - what strikes this city-boy's eyes is that is a lot of hay to have stacked outside without any cover?

I'm a generation younger than this photo, but I grew up on a ranch in northern Nebraska where we made haystacks. The haystacks were kept outside, and they were shaped to shed water. If they were used during the first winter after they were made, rotting of the hay from moisture was minimal. It wouldn't have been practical to keep all the hay inside because such a great quantity of hay was harvested each year to see the cattle through the long winter. I think this was probably true in 1940 in Colorado also. Also, keep in mind that the annual rainfall isn't that much in Colorado. The main reason to keep hay inside is to avoid water damage.