Field Work at Golden Hour {Hay Baling & Farm Life}

| Allison

Hello, dears!

It’s baling season right now, so my dad and brothers are out pretty much nonstop during the day, cutting and baling and putting away the hay and straw we will sell later. Despite all the nature pictures I take, I don’t often make a post about field work or farm life like this for some reason. So I hope you enjoy today’s photoshoots!

Harvesting is one of the most interesting parts of farm work to watch, I think, and it’s also one of the most beautiful to photograph… particularly when you’re taking pictures during golden hour. 😉 Enjoy some peaceful fields, sunrays, and a little bit of farm trivia! 😀 Let’s do this.

I didn’t really organize these pictures in any particular way, so here we are, starting with one of my favorites. Can you see why I took so many pictures this evening? The dust made for perfect sun rays through this big tree and ahh, it looked incredible.

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I’m going to mix up the pictures taken from a couple different days. Here’s one I took recently when the boys were baling straw. I just loved the huge tree (again) in the background!

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I think this shed looks aesthetic with the cedar trees and hay windrows around it. 🙂

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This is Dad’s baling setup, a more complicated one than usual because we’re making big cubes composed of 21 small square bales. If we do that straight from the field, we don’t have to take the extra step of rebaling the big, round bales you usually see.

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I talk about how Dad and the boys bale a field more in this post, but I shall review a bit. 🙂 First, they cut the hay and make it into long “windrows,” like below. Sometimes they need to spread it out thin again to dry faster before they bale it.

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This is one time of day that dust looks beautiful, right? 😛

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I think I might have taken these the same day I did the photoshoot of Carmen and Nellie. The lighting was one reason I loved that shoot so much, so the same for this one!

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Back to straw again. And yes, hay and straw are two different things. 😉 Mini farm lesson: straw is the stem (like the stem of mature wheat), and hay is kind of like long mown grass, so it has the leaf or blade in there. Hay is for feeding and straw is for bedding, mulching, etc. Most good hay is greenish and good straw is golden brown, so that’s one way to tell them apart. 🙂

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Buuut whether you know what kind they are or not, a field of bales looks so beautiful and peaceful, doesn’t it?

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I drove back here on the four-wheeler one night after bringing Jeff supper and had to come back for pictures because 1) I forgot how marvelous it is to drive a four-wheeler really fast on a beautiful day, and 2) I’d never been all the way back in this gorgeous field we rent and I loved it!

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We’ve been making the boys a LOT of packed lunches and suppers so the boys can get all the fieldwork in that they can before it rains. Megan and I have nearly exhausted our repertoire of lunch ideas. XD Usually it’s a sandwich, chips, apples, and some dessert, which the boys seem to like. But the wonderful thing is, at least we don’t have to make food for ourselves because our church family has been bringing us meals since Mom’s heart surgery. ❤ ALSO SHE’S HOME! She just got home yesterday and it is wonderful to have her back. ❤ Praise God for answered prayers!

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I think Maggie is a fan of hay fields. 🙂 I love this picture except I was trying to shield my lens from the sun and I couldn’t without my hand getting in the way… so please excuse the orange blur, heh heh.

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Jeff, my youngest brother, really wanted me to get some good pictures of them baling so he could order a print of one for his and Logan’s bedroom. 😉 We shall see if they actually do so.

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Heh, this seems like a dramatic tractor ad or something. XD I love the golden glow behind the cab.

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We shall end with a few nature-y pictures I took on my four-wheeler ride, when I discovered these adorable fuzzy clover-like flowers by the side of the field. Does anyone know what they are?

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SO PUFFY. They’re rather a boring color, but I love the texture. They’re like teddy bear weeds. 🙂

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I used the aforementioned teddy bear weeds to cover the sun in this picture of… ooh, sunflowers! This isn’t a hayfield; Dad’s growing a mix of crops here which includes sunflowers and I’M SO EXCITED BECAUSE MORE PICTURES! I will most definitely keep you guys updated. 😉 Megan and I want to do a sisters photoshoot here when they bloom.

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Last but not least, a simple picture of a green field at golden hour because ahh, those just make me happy. ❤

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And that’s all for today, my friends! I hope you enjoyed that farm scenery and some baling trivia to go along with it. 😉 Isn’t there something about fields and golden hour and sunrays that just seem so peaceful and calming? Of course, in real life there’s a lot of noise and dust too, but I think it’s beautiful. 🙂 I hope this post brought a little bit of sunshine into your day. ❤

Which photo was your favorite? Do you know what the “teddy bear weeds” are? 😛 What is your favorite time of day/night?

Thanks so much for reading, dears, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***

P. S. Photos taken with my Nikon D3400 and a 35mm lens. Edited with picmonkey.com.

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59 thoughts on “Field Work at Golden Hour {Hay Baling & Farm Life}”

  1. Agh, soooo pretty!! ❤ ❤ Hay in a pasture is so aesthetic, I most definitely agree.
    I didn't know that you mom had heart surgery, but I am so glad that she is now home, and I will be praying for a speedy and successful recovery!
    Yes, I would LOVE to see a sunflower photoshoot!! Sunflowers are some of my favorites; they're always so bright and cheerful. That "teddy-bear weed" is cute too; I regret to say that I do not know exactly what its real name it; it looks sort of like red clover to me except without the red color. XD
    Have a wonderful weekend!

    ~Esther

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Ahh, THANK YOU! I know, right?
      Yeah, I briefly mentioned it in a past post, but I haven’t talked about it much. I probably will in an Etcetera post. 🙂 Thank you so much, Esther!
      I CAN’T WAIT TO DO ONE. Definitely! Hee hee, yeah. That’s actually what I thought too. Maybe it’s in the clover family? The leaves are much narrower, though, so I don’t know.
      Thank you for the lovely comment, and you too!

      Liked by 2 people

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  5. Ahh… such beautiful pictures!!! I get to help with field work this year as we’re chopping silage, and there’s just something so beautiful about being in the fields. Except when you meet skunks. :/

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    1. Ahh, thank you! That is SO neat! I don’t drive the equipment so just my brothers help in the fields – it’s so neat that you get to help too! HAHA YES. And snakes and all sorts of other stuff. :[]

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    1. Ohhh is that what it is? Because that’s what it reminded me of! But the leaves were really narrow and some of them were brilliant red, which I don’t remember seeing on crimson clover… but it could be. Yes, it sure does!

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  8. Eep! Lovely photos 🙂
    So happy your mom is back. Hopefully she will be getting stronger soon. ❤️ Heh, “dramatic tractor ad.” 😄
    TEDDY BEAR WEEDS. Perfection. I do not know what they are, but maybe I can find out…. *refers to plant book*
    Hm, nope. Ah well.
    Golden hour is so beautiful! I think I liked the last photo best. Good luck finding the teddy bear weed’s true identity!

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    1. Thank youu!
      I am too. ❤ Thanks, Ellie! HAHA YEP. And yesss, they are indeed perfection. I thank you for your attempted classification. *grateful bow*
      I knooow, I absolutely love golden hour. Thank you muchly. I feel like figuring out teddy bear weed's true identity should be my life's mission, now. XD

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  9. Allison we love the pictures . Your fields look so peaceful and comforting. Prayers that your mom will have 100% health. HAPPY and SAFE 4th OF JULY
    Marilyn,Joan and Marion

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  13. Aah, what pretty photos! Golden hour is one of the best times to take photos! A couple of weeks ago, my sister and I went for a walk one evening, and the sun was so beautiful! And how it beamed on the flowers. So breathtaking!
    Oh, I am so happy that your Mom is back! Praise God that all went well; how wonderful! ❤

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  14. Oh my. These may be some of my all time favorite pictures you’ve posted! *happy sigh* They’re all just so calming to look at! XD If that makes any sense. 😛 Also, I am SO SO happy to hear that y’all’s mom is home!!!!! That is marvelous news!!! :)) Thank you for sharing these wondermous pictures. 🙂

    -Laura ❤ 🙂

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    1. Oh my GOODNESS, that is high praise! Thank you so, so much! And I’m so happy to hear Mom is home too, hee hee. Thank you for the lovely comment, Laura! ❤

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  15. These are absolutely beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing the view as well as your joy and awe at it all! (I also live for golden hours. Doesn’t matter where I am in the world, golden hour is always the best) ❤

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. I’m so glad you liked this, Hannah! Ha ha, well I certainly thought of you while I wrote it but I took the pictures before I got your messages. 😛 And THANK YOU! Me too. ❤

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  17. Ahh, I love how golden hour just makes everything look that much prettier! 😉 I always love how hay bales just look so aesthetic – especially at golden hour! Also, I’m so glad to hear that your mom is doing better and is home! ❤ 🙂

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  21. Pretty pictures! I’m so thankful God brought you all through your mom’s surgery and brought her home safely ❤ I was praying for y'all. I think other readers already gave the name of the "teddy bear" flowers; I don't remember the name myself, but we do have those where I live and they're a really pretty, deep red color when in their prime.

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    1. Thank you! And oh my, same here. ❤ Thank you so much! Oh really? Then yes, it must be crimson clover! I have never seen it in this stage before, but I love it both ways. 🙂

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  22. this was such a joyfilled post and such lovely comments although i skipped across some i hit a like one many as my way of giving a high five….hope you dont’ mind me taking this liberty on your blog Allison….but i just loved your pics, your farm, you and everything…God bless you and everyone of your awesome supporters and my love to your mom…..

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    1. Aww, thank you! Ha ha, of course I don’t mind! That’s so sweet of you. Thank you so much for the lovely, lovely comment, and thanks for visiting!

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