Haying Time… One Bittersweet Mele Aloha

Stay haying time in Damascus.  All ova can see da various stages of da harvest.  Some places already wen bale and remove da hay. Oddas jass at da point of threshing.  Oddas da rows of cut hay lying out in da hot sun waiting foa da tractor to come along and rake um, leaving da rows full of fluffy hay. Swallows love haying time!  Dey swoop and glide ova da rows, scooping up alla bugs dat thought dey was safe insai da stuff lying on da ground; which dey were, until da hay wen get raked.

Jass up da road from us get one huge pasture belonging to one Century Farm called Weber’s Dairy.  When we firss wen move in hea, about 19 years ago, da Weber ‘ohana still had dairy cows, and we could see dem grazing out in da pasture.

Sometimes da Webers wen grow field corn dea, da tall stalks waving in da wind, moa tall den one man.  Wen pau da harvest, da owners wen let alla cows into da pasture foa chomp any corn left ova.  Just da sight of da cows and da corn wen bring maluhia [peace] to my spirit.  Everytime I wen come around da corna from Gresham, I wen look forward to seeing dat pastoral sight.

Times wen change.  Da Webers wen stop dairying and wen rent out da pasture to anodda farmer who had cows.  Nomo field corn wen get planted.  But around dis time of year most years, da haying would begin.

Lass year, da Webers had da standard bales of hay in da pasture after da baler wen go chru:

But dis year, about two weeks ago, when Nolemana and I stay heading to town, ho, we wen see one new kine bale in da field.  Neva befoa had da Webers done dis kine, so of course I wen tell Nolemana, “Eh, I like stop an watch!”  Firss I had for race back home to get my camera, cuz I like take photos.  I tell u why lataz.

Dis yea, da bales no look like da small kine rectangle bales like befoa.  Dis da sight dat wen greet us when we wen pull off da road foa snap da pics:

Ho, da big, yeah?

We wen watch da tractor lift up each bale wit spesho prongs in front.

Den da driver of da tractor wen take da bale ova to da flatbed truck in da field:

… anden wen plop um down on da truck:

By dis time, da blue flatbed stay full, anden one nodda flatbed wen come ova:

Down wen go da next bale:

Da blue truck wen get moa and moa full up:

Da truck stay full; now dey going take da bales away.

Da truck about to drive onto da road to take da hay to who knows wea…

Den da baler wen start up again:

Try watch.  Da bale going come out da back.  Kewl, yeah?

Da next bale wen come out all kapakahi [crooked], and da baler kane [man] had foa check out da equipment foa see wat wen happen:

Da odda kane wen continue on doing his job picking up da bales.

I love haying time.  I love da fragrance of da newly cut hay, I love da swallows dipping and gliding as dey search foa bugs.  I love da way da bales look.  I love da peaceful movement of da machinery working its way up and down da fields.

But dis is one bittersweet mele aloha [love song] to haying time in dis field.  Why?  Cuz just a couple of months ago, all dis acreage wen get sold to da Gresham-Barlow School District.  In a few moa years, dis lovely view will be nomo.  In its place going be one new high school, complete wit football fields, parking lots, classrooms, and attendant traffic and noise.

Nomo will cows graze peacefully in dis field.  Nomo will da tractors make dea steady way up and down, creating green “Tootsie Rolls”.  Nomo will I be able foa take photos of one of my favorite sights in da world.  Nomo da Canada Geese going winta hea, honking and calling to each odda as dey munch da winter grass.

Aloha ‘oe, Webers Dairy.  I get too much wai maka foa write anymoa.


3 Responses to Haying Time… One Bittersweet Mele Aloha

  1. Islandhippo says:

    Awww, that’s sad!

    That’s what we have over our back fence, cow pasture. Well it used to be. The boys loved seeing the cows back there but I’m sure someone complained (hey the cows were here first!) so they are only there maybe 2 days a year.

    Now they use it for hay, except “Farmer John” as Dh calls him, does the baling and stuff in the middle of the night. Oh da noisy! But hey, he was here first and is only a couple nights a year, can handle that.

  2. Lika says:

    They have those in OK. In fact dey get da suppa size ones too, twice dat size kine. Fresh cut hay/grass smells good. True nature.

    I so need to learn pic-chas yeah. LOL

  3. Kalani says:

    Dear Sis,

    These pictures are so wonderful. They look like the ones around the corner from us. I know all these things will be missed. May other joys take their place.

    Love you bunches,


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