The Netherlands is very flat and wet in the western part, where I live, so there is no arable farming here. We have a lot of grass in our polders, so it stands to reason, that the farmers breed cattle, mostly for dairy products.(A polder is low-lying land that has been reclaimed and is protected by dikes, especially in the Netherlands). All meadows in Holland are divided by narrow canals or ditches filled with water. In winter if there is ice you can go skating on them, in summer they keep the cattle in the fields. Here you see that hay is gathered for this cattle in winter.That enormous machine is needed to collect the hay.
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35 comments:
That's funny, I was just outside working with rake and pitchfork to make stacks of long dry grasses and reclaim some of my yard for civilization. Now I find your fun post about haymaking. Nice to look closely at the enlarged photos and wish I were there in the polder. The fresh cut hay must smell so good.
Beautiful equipment, New Holland and a shiny blue tractor.
Is that a double sided hay rake the one guy has? New to me. Good idea.
Do they make the big round bales or small square bales?
The cows and sheep will be happy, come winter.
The sweet smell of hay-making is one of the nicest smells there is. We have, in the past, made hay with a team of mules pulling the hay rake and ourselves forking the hay around a pole to make an old-time hay stack. Hard, hard work but oh! that lovely smell!
Wil...the first real jobs my sons ever had was in"hay making season".
Helping to bale, haul and store the hay. One forgets they do this all over the world! I'm with Vicki,
it smells sooooo good!
Xoxo
Are they haymaking already reader wil? Our hay will not be ready for at least another month.
I love that last picture of cows grazing in a water meadow.
Interesting article. I trust you had a pleasant week-end. I keep thinking today is Sunday, but it's Memorial Day and so a lot of businesses are closed making it seem like a Sunday.
It is nice to see the grasslands, Wil. I like grass perhaps better than any thing else in the pasture.
Very nice. It looks like a great place.
I enjoyed looking at your photos Wil.
Thanks for linking them on My World.
Sharon.
LOL too true about making hay. Great pics, looks like your having wonderful weather.
Have a great week.
Guy
Regina In Pictures
Your lovely photos brought back memories of summers spent on my uncle's farm. I could almost feel the warm sun and smell the hay. Thanks for a lovely look back at my world and a today look at yours! Thanks as always, Wil!
Oh wonderful I lived in the polder close to the German border and close to the rijn I remember the farmers being busy with hay
It appears the cows and horses will have a nice haystack for the winter.
I do love the smell of fresh cut hay.
Your post brought back memories of making hay when I was growing up. The fields were much larger than your polders but the equipment (and work) is probably much the same.
These are beautiful shots. There is something very appealing to me about meadows. Your title was fun and appropriate.
Lovely shots of the meadows. It seems so pleasant there.
lovely green shots of your world..look like summer is approaching..
Looks like a lovely day to be outdoors, whether out for working in the fields/land, or just walking out.
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De polder is dan wel plat, maar toch een mooi landschap.
Het onweer van deze nacht viel nogal mee kwestie van regen, maar door de stevige wind is hier toch heel veel op te ruimen.
Hopelijk is het bij jullie ook meegevallen.
Groetjes
Gday Wil, Lovely Pics of your Meadows I love the one of the cws grazing . I like the fresh smell of hay when I go out on the highway a few minutes from home..
That's always been a dream of mine... to ice skate on a canal in Holland! I've always found the idea of that so exhilarating!
One day they'll invent an Internet with scents, so you can transmit the smell of grass and hay. Absolutely gorgeous.
Lovely post Wil, I haven't seen wooden hay rakes since my childhood! Here is Australia it is all mechanised, cutting, raking and turning and then baling into square of round bales.
Somehow, although I could no longer physically work in the fields, I do miss the old fashioned haymakig without mechanical noise and larks singing high in the sky.
Haying so soon? Our grass isn't tall enough to cut and bale yet. Lovely shots and explanation.
What smells greater than fresh cut hay? Nothing.
I am also interested how it would look ice skating there in winter. Must be a wonderful scene.
What beautiful land. Portrayed well in your photos and words.
I try to use the canals and beaver ponds as barriers for our sheep but we have one we call Bathsheepa, she is quite frequently found in my garden with a very wet fleece. The cows in the Netherlands must not have any water wings!
Beautiful photos, the last shot of the meadow is striking.. It was fun to read about your watery world.
Gosh beautiful photos and the hay looks very lush. Love the smell of fresh mowed hay...reminds me of my days as a young girl on the farm.
That looks like a warm and sunny, sweet-smelling place.
Good for this hayfarm because I love Frisian Milk. hehe The milk I drank when I was a young girl. I can still remember the jingle: "Dutch baby milk, pwham pwham pwham ...for beautiful children". Believe me Ma'am I can sing the notes perfectly. So please let us tell those busy farmers to farm more hay for my Frisian Cow's Milk: the milk for beautiful children. lol.
Do they seal your hay in big plastic bags? I saw some bales of hay in plastic sheeted bags in Cornwall park. may be it is too wet here.
The photos bring pleasant memories of my childhood vacations of visiting relatives who farmed the land. Thank you, Wil.
Oh. There are cows in the meadow. I love cows. :)
Your world looks a lot like where I was raised in Indiana minus the water. The land was very flat and lots of hay fields and pastures for cows. We also had lots of corn, soybean and tomato fields.
Oh, Wil, I enjoyed this so much. That last picture pulls at my heartstrings though. Makes me think of my childhood.
I see cows...
I make hay as well...
Awesome...
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