Haying

[Roxie]

Linda, if you take a couple of Benadryl tablets, it stops those scratches from itching and will keep them from puffing up and looking bad.  You've got a real nice looking load of hay and those are some very lucky goats to be getting 3rd cut hay!  

[MULE_MAN]

Linda

I alway wear thin long sleeve shirt .  It helps some , and you don't look like the loser in a cat fight  

[Linda]

Mule_Man,
I debated on the long sleeve shirt, but I overheat easy and it was pretty hot and humid, so I wore a short sleeve.  Dumb decision!  Although, when I got done, ElectricAl took one look at my red face and said,  "WOW, you better get something to drink you're really overheated!"  I told him I'd already had 36oz of cold water, so he made me come sit in front of the air conditioner until I was cooled off.  Always looking out for me, what a great guy!

Roxie,
Good advice, but I'm allergic to some of the additives in Benadryl, so I use Vitamin C as an antihistamine.  The only problem is, you have to remember to take it before starting.   I always try to save the best cut of hay for our goats, they are very spoiled.

[Patty]

Long sleeved white cotton shirts and blue jeans are the best clothes for putting up hay. As with everybody else, I learned the hard way when I was a kid. NEVER wear shorts (even if the hired guys are really cute!   ) and never wear short sleeves, always wear good leather gloves that fit, and for round bales, a good set of hooks are a must.

[Patty]

Norm used to come to our place to help bale hay when we were kids...it was love at first sight.  

[beenthere]

Patty, that comment sure brings back memories.  
Haying at the neighbor girls' place was a highlight. Her Dad didn't chase me off, not when I was doing all that work for him.

Didn't last forever, but sure was a great beginning.  
P.S. Her name was Linda. Lost out to another guy when she went off to college in Iowa City at the big U. (I found a better replacement though).  

[crtreedude]

If you are alergic to antihistamines, try caffeine, a lot of alergy medicines have it and it does have some effect.

When I was about 14, I was visiting family in Missouri during haying season, my cousin asked if I wanted to make some money bailing hay - Lost about 3 inches around my waist in about 2 weeks.

What really amazed me was that when we went out to the fields, my cousin was armed, he had a pistol strapped on.

From the age of 7, I grew up in the suburbs of Western NY, so I had heard about the old West, but I thought those days were over. I was half expecting hay bail rustlers to try to steal the hay while we were working.

After a few hours, all of sudden, I heard the pistol go off -I swear, I was looking for a hole to crawl into!

It seems that my cousin shot at a bail of hay, that had a rattlesnake partially bailed into it, madder than anything.

Later in the day, I was reaching for a bail, and there not 3 feet from my nose was a very angry, copperhead, half imbedded into the bail.   I never knew that bailing hay could be such a dangerous occupation.

[DanG]

Nice load of hay, Linda!  Now you may not have to rely on drugs to solve your itching problem. You could just follow the advice of a young (at that time) country bumpkin that I know.

Back when my Dad was acourtin' my Mom he made his first visit to my Grandparents' farm. My uncle was about 4 or 5 years old at the time, and was a sure enough bonafide little farm knothead. He kept hanging around them, checking out my Dad thoroughly. As the little guys do, he was searching for some profound statement of wisdom to share that was sure to make a good impression. What he came up with was, "When mules itches, they lies down and wallers."
It made an impression, all right. That story still gets told every time more than 3 of my family gets together.

[Norm]

That's a good one Dan, I too hired on to make a good impression on Patty's dad. He had a reputation for not liking young men coming around to court his daughter. The time that comes to mind was a very hot July afternoon working on the rack. I was trying my darndest to look good as Patty was driving the tractor with the baler while I worked on the rack with a friend of mine. I thought the only reason she kept looking back was to see if she was plugging up the baler. As for her dad, well he still doesn't like me.