Pullets first egg

I found a miniature egg in the nest boxes this morning, among the normal sized chicken eggs. One of our 5 new pullets started laying. Welcome to a new productive member of the farm! The picture below shows one normal egg, next to the pullet's first egg.

Hay Making by Hand

I have several areas of grass that need regular mowing, but don't need to be mowed like a lawn. The road edge is a good example. These areas are great for making hay. Mechanized haymaking equipment only makes sense on a big commercial scale, due to the cost. They are also dangerous equipment. So to feed our 5 goats for the winter months, hand tools seem appropriate. Here are the tools I used:

Here is the area mowed by hand:

Here is the last load of the day:

And here is the hay shed:

Note that the pair of gloves in the first pic is NOT OPTIONAL. Here is what happened one day I was not using them:

That blade is sharpened with a hammer, and finished with the wet stone in the pic. The wet stone is used every ~ 5mn, the hammer, once a season. It is REALLY sharp.
Cutting hay is done early in the morning, while the dew is still on the grass. Wet grass cuts a lot better than dry grass, which folds under the blade. Cutting grass early morning, in the silence, allows you to hear the sounds of Nature. Beside, the grass has to be cut anyway...