Always a pleasure to do something new. My husband got me going, and I used the disc mower to cut hay this afternoon. I left lots of "rooster tails" (areas I missed on the corners), but maybe I'll do better next time.

This is very, very late first cut, with little or no nutritional value. But, we're getting what we can get. At least it may keep the sheep's rumens going, and keep the sheep warm this winter. Almost everyone around here is in the same boat after the long, rainy, cool summer. We're all scrambling for hay. I figure that I'm not likely to be able to buy much better. The great hope is that we can bring in a bit of second cut later this month or in September, to have something with some nutrition for January and February. In any case, we'll be feeding more grain than usual.

The vegetable garden didn't fare much better. I'm going to pull up some of the electronet fencing around it tomorrow, and use it to get some sheep out on part of the lawn that looks particularly tasty. It will mean less mowing for my husband, and more nutrition for the sheep. Their pasture is plenty large enough, but with all the rain, the buttercups really took off this year.   Buttercups are no problem in hay, but when they are green in the pasture, they are caustic.

Bobolinks

I was walking home from the back of the hayfield this afternoon, and flushed several birds along the way. Several looked like they were the young from one nest. I was a bit concerned, especially since they headed way over to some woods. I walked a bit away and stayed and watched. Those few were joined by a few more, and a few more - maybe 25 to 35 eventually. They weren't very organized, but seemed to be working on getting things together as a flock. Based on a couple of adults that swooped closer to me, I think this group may be the Bobolink young from several nests. Perhaps they are getting in shape and practicing before taking off for South America. I wonder if the adults lead the young down the first time, for this species. If anyone knows, please let me know. I thought the Bobolinks left by mid July, so I'm not sure if the birds I saw were Bobolinks. In any case, they were a lot of fun to watch, learning to fly together.

There would never have been so many Bobolinks, or any Bobolink young, surviving in a normal year on the hay field, because their nests would have been destroyed when haying. Bobolinks are one of the few ground nesting birds that will not try to re-nest if a nest is destroyed. They just head for their winter home in South America. Because of all the rain this year, haying is very late and it seems to be a very good year for Boblinks. Bobolink populations have been declining rapidly over all, so as much as I'm worried about winter feed, I have to be happy for the Bobolinks.