Hay!!

No, not "HEY", but "HAY"...

They're 3 feet tall x 5 feet deep x 8 feet long. They weigh around 1,800 lbs / each.

Some here have asked about raising cattle. Well, this is what it's like.

Pictured is a our new building we just built to store some of our hay for the cows. What you see is the last 20' of the building (which is actually 150' longer behind the wall you see). It's bigger than our house! (for those who think rancher/farmers are rich, we spend far more money on our animals and equipment than we ever do on ourselves)



And, every now and then there is some fun. Like the times my Australian Cattle Dog has to supervise "everything". He's always in charge! Bravest dog I've ever known. Here he is supervising moving some hay bales....



This dog will go after the toughest, meanest, bull in the pasture or corrals..first. Just a fearless animal! But...he's my buddy!

And so now you perhaps see, all this "fun" isn't always all that fun. And then the snows come, and the rains, and the ugly times...but we still go.

Always.

Maybe the hardest I ever worked was as a kid on my Uncles farm hauling hay bales.

Running behind a pickup. I dont miss it.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Grr... been there

Tossin hay bales into the barn... did 400 one day... been sore ever since and that was like 10 years ago lol..

bloody grass eh

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

You will get no sympathy from drought affected Aussie farmers.

It is all part of what you signed up for ...

Hope you prosper !

a reply to: Akragon

Bloody grass seeds ! And burrs !

Unloaded most of a semi once ... in 42c heat.

Welcome to country Australia. ( Lack of rain, hence precious water supplies) Water can be worth as much as gold. It is all about perspective.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

is all the land i see yours?

equipment yours too?

damn man.
i know nothing about ranching but that is heavy duty

a reply to: TinySickTears

Yes, as far as you can see in 3 directions (well, almost) (just under 1700 acres). And yes, the equipment too. That's just our skid. Then there's the tractor(s), trucks and trailers, implements and other stuff too. Oh, and it's kind of hard to see in the picture, but the driveway is on a serious downhill grade (about 16%) which makes for all sorts of 'fun' clearing snow. It's why all of our vehicles are four wheel drive.

a reply to: Timely

When I was in Sydney back in '97 (working on your Airport in preparation for the 2000 Olympic Games) I remember going for a drive one evening after work. I headed out of town to the north east. I came upon this absolutely humongous gravel parking lot on the side of the road. There was no one there, and I couldn't imagine what such a big lot would ever be used for. About 4km later I drove over a set of rumble strips on the road, then another set. I looked up and saw this big red and white sign...



So, of course, I kept driving. About 5km later the highway turned to dirt. That's when I came upon another series of signs on both sides of the road, these ones were yellow...



How COOL! I hadn't expected that at all! It was bizarre how the scenery just changed like a light switch turning on. It went from green and lush to desert in the span of just a couple km. I drove for another hour or so and it was desolation beyond anything I had ever seen! (and I grew up in Wyoming too, which is really saying something). I would love to go back and truly explore the Outback. I'd love to go 'overlanding' and travel to the small outposts and camps.

On my return trip I passed the same giant gravel lot I'd seen earlier. This time there were vehicles in it, and all of a sudden I understood why the lot was so big. The lot was a rally point where they assembled the big "road trains" for traversing the Outback.



They were too big to drive in Sydney, so they'd bring one trailer at a time in and then attach it to the road train.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: TinySickTears

Oh, and it's kind of hard to see in the picture, but the driveway is on a serious downhill grade (about 16%) which makes for all sorts of 'fun' clearing snow. It's why all of our vehicles are four wheel drive.

Sounds like you have your hands more than full. Running a farm in winter is a challenge, whats difficult to do in the summer has a whole new meaning in -10 deg, blowing snow and icy conditions.

I worked construction in Colorado for 20 some yrs and during winter the biggest challenge was getting up peoples driveways. Driving in 2wd until I got to the job was par for course a lot of the time, LOL. Most of the big fancy homes I did had heated driveways but not all.

Ah, hay. I remember it from when I was a wee one on our farm.

I hated it. It itched. My dad was severely allergic to it, had asthma attacks allll the time from hay dust. But at the same time, he loved the scent. "Smell THAT! This smells won---*wheezing*--der ---*wheezing*--- ful!"

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Cool story bro !

Only thing is, if you head Nth. East. Out of Sydney you will find yourself drinkingPacific Ocean.

Next issue is; you would need to head West for about 8 or nine hours to see such desert like terrain . Yep road trains are par for the course, but really you do not go for a casual drive out of Sydney and see such things.

Hours of boring terrain heading West will get you there.

I know, I have driven the Hay Plains at night in a car. Death by wombat or roo is a very real concern.

Your memory might be failing you in this instance.

Be happy to help you with your recalling of events ex - Sydney.

a reply to: Timely

That's weird! I know I saw what I saw, and it wasn't 9 hours of driving (or anywhere near it).

I very well may have the direction wrong, but this wasn't right in Sydney, it was over by the Airport (I forget the name of the township). I suppose it could have been a couple hours, but not 8-9.

Hmmmm...that's strange. Makes me wonder what I saw. I remember the signs clear as day, because I'd never seen anything like that before and I never even knew they existed. So I was really surprised when I saw them.

I'm sure, living there, you're probably right...but I know I saw something!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

You entered the twilight zone !

* cue music ...

If you head Nth. or Sth. Out of Sydney you get coastal towns and landscapes all the way to QLD. in the North Or Victoria heading South.

You need to head inland to go Bush. Out back is far West NSW, Northern Territory ( the home of the road train ) lots of Sth. Aus. etc.

I would be interested to see where you ended up.



Ed: You would have needed to cross the great dividing range on your way to the Bush...

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

When i was very young that was one of my jobs in the summer gathering in the hay with my friends and we got zero for it just a quick ride in the farmers plane , hard going and the bales are no where near that size .

1700 acres wow that takes some looking after

a reply to: Timely

Gosh, I looked over some maps and you're correct. I honestly don't know where the heck I went now! I kind of forgot that I did take the day off once and go for a drive, so it might have been a little ways (still don't think it was 8 hours though).

Now you've got me really wondering!

I was traveling for work so much back during that timeframe I'd wake up in a country and have to look in my passport to see where the heck I was (which Australia made interesting because they had gone to E-Visas then, so no stamps). That's when you know you're traveling WAY too much! Maybe I flew somewhere else there and am just remembering this all wrong.

Could it maybe have been out of Adelaide? Pretty sure I had to go there once too for something. I distinctly remember the scenery changing like immediately (and the signs). The pictures I posted were not the ones I took (just some I found quickly on the net), but I did take some pictures of them. I'll see if I can dig them out.

Man, this is bugging me now!

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Lol !

One airport morphs into the next if you travel extensively .

Adelaide could well fit the bill. You don't need to go Nth. West for too long to find yourself in extreme topography.
Ie: The Nullabor plain and the Simpson desert are a couple of examples.

Be great to see some pics of your travels !