I can’t think about fall, October and November, without thinking about harvesting. Perhaps it’s from my growing up on a farm or all those stories of Thanksgiving and the early Pilgrims when I was a child.
When I see crops ready for gathering framed by the colors of fall it gives me one of those warm fuzzy moments. ;-)
The large round bales have significantly reduced the amount of labor and stress associated with making hay. They can easily be moved by one man with a tractor and they are baled/wrapped in such a manner to be water resistant, like a thatched roof.
When I was a young man hay came in only small rectangular bales. These had to be physically handled multiple times to get them from the hayfield and neatly stacked in a barn or under a shed out of the weather. They are not water resistant and if rained on after baling the hay can be ruined and become moldy. Moldy hay can kill cattle and horses.
There is also a danger of spontaneous combustion if hay not properly cured is baled and stacked tightly in a barn. Many a barn has burned to the ground due to this build up of heat.
Photo: Nikon D700 ISO400 50mm f/11 1/250sec