Outside haystacks had to be thatched to keep dry

John was at market first thing this morning with twenty fat lambs and a friend (who farms ten miles away) in the queue of vehicles in front of him waiting to offload, commented to him: “I see you’re in the wheat then.”John did well yesterday. Daughter Jo and her husband were home and our nephew Thomas as well. No lounging around in the sun for them. “I’ve got some staff on here” John said “So I’m going to make on.”

Millie our new Jack Russell puppy thoroughly enjoyed riding in the tractor bringing corn home to tip. This morning John’s brother Geoff is here as well putting the corn through the dryer. As a result I’m keeping my washing indoors.

Creates more mountains of dust.

How different was harvest in my mother-in-law’s day. I have been re-reading her exercise books with real nostalgia for times past, although as Rose said at the end of one of the pages “It’s lovely to remember the good old days but I reckon they can keep them.”

Corn was cut before it was really ripe and the sheaves bound together with a band made of pliable green straw . John’s grandfather scythed round the edge of the field first before the binder came round and then all hands were on to rake the corn into sheaves.

Two horses pulled the binder and everyone had to stook the corn ‘rough if there were any thistles or docks in. It was all carted home after two weeks and stacked.

She added:”If it went into the Dutch barn that was easy but outside there was more to it. I was always the picker on the stack. Thatched later and then kept until it was threshed.” After harvest was cleared, Rose’s father used to take two or three hen houses onto the stubbles to clear up the corn and fatten the cockerels. I doubt now that there is enough corn left on the fields to do that.

Rose wrote about it once, when most of the men were away ( this was during the war and in her Land Army days). She was asked to make the stack after being chief loadener in the field: “Twice round the wagon bottom with the sheaves, then I used to ship them which meant doing them lengthways. The outside haystacks had to be thatched to keep them dry in winter and the stacks were raised from the ground with stone staddles.”

Staddles were used as supporting bases to protect the stored grain from rats. It did sound from her journal though that she had a plan about being in charge.

“We were cutting the corn and the corn binder seat was loose and I lost the foreman off. Got to the end of the field before I knew.”

I bet.