Larry and J.R. are making progress on developing the 1SR snath. After endless hurdles with building codes and local politics, they are finally able to use the building for the woodworking division, to some extent at least. The blacksmithing will have to be done in a separate new building, currently under construction. They are using special Bird's Eye Ash, from a specialist tool handle wood supplier in Kentucky. 

After I ok'd the initial prototype that they sent me (see the video of the first prototype above), they have gone ahead and started to figure out how to mass produce them. Our first line of snaths will be sawn out. A future, more expensive line will be steam bent. A company that steam bends shovel handles, is interested in doing that for us, in the future. 

Larry and J.R. designed a special router bit for the adjustment grooves, and had it custom made by an American company for them. Then they designed, and built a custom table for the router. Their still experimenting with guide-rail ideas. The first test on a 2x4 came out a perfect fit!

As some of you know, I have had to move off my farm. A long, dark, and bitter story, that I will save for another time. This is the last and final thing that I moved off my farm, yesterday. My friends and family think I was nuts, to go back and get it, but it's my favorite "invention" from my farm ("Invention" like in re-inventing the wheel. Haystack frames have been around for a long time, of course!). It is the latest and most successful evolvement of my Pyramid Haystack frames. It was in continual use for over 5 years, left outside the entire time. All the wood and ropes are still completely sound. I hope to use it again this summer, and for many to come.

When I first started out in 2001, with my Scythe Supply scythe and The Scythe Book, I was excited about experimenting with the haystacks that I read about in the book and on Scythe Supply's website. To my dismay, every hay drying rack and stacking method that I tried, turned into compost on a stick. I called Elliot Fishbein for a consultation, but he was baffled by my results. 
  After several years of experimenting, I finally developed a system that worked for me, here on my farm in Wisconsin. I called it the Pyramid Haystack, and I emailed Scythe Supply about it. Sadly Elliot was no longer with us by then, but Carol was very excited about it and asked to post my email on her website. See http://www.scythesupply.com/workshops/hayRackWorkshop.htm

Well, that was a long time ago now, and my haystack has evolved quite a bit since then. I wrote about it in my 2010 blog post entitled Haystacks, but I didn't get around to posting the latest updated photos of the beefed-up version of my latest haystack frame. Once I got my goose house built, I didn't need the haystacks to be so portable, and I wanted to be able to leave them in place for many years. I am also 6'5" tall, and I can really pile the hay very high, making for a very heavy structural load. Over the years I had a couple of 2x4 uprights break at structural weak points (big knots), as the hay settled. So I switched to cedar fenceposts for the uprights. They were stronger and weather resistant.  To keep the feet from sinking in the clay mud, as well as to prevent rotting, I placed them on flat paving stones.

I had problems with rabbits chewing through natural ropes, and with the sun deteriorating cheap artificial fiber ropes, so I switched to UV resistant rope, plus wrapped some extra rope around the top, just in case a rabbit got up there. Rabbits love these haystacks in winter. Warm and cozy, a roof over head, and plenty to eat. (Best tasting rabbit I've ever had, though. I don't mean for revenge's sake. I mean they really are good tasting rabbit meat. Wild rabbits on an organic farm, that over-winter on organic red clover hay and wild browse, taste a whole lot better than rabbits raised in cages on rabbit chow!) 

To discourage rabbits and mice from taking up long-term residence and getting too comfortable, I like to have the platform raised high enough off the ground for my dogs and cats to get underneath it. In the winter, the haystacks are always the first place the dogs want to run to, when let out in the morning. In addition to giving the dogs access, the raised platform truly allows for plenty of air to circulate underneath the stack. Unlike most other haystacks, the best hay in these stacks is on the bottom.

Another reason that I wanted to experiment with "beefing" up my haystack frame, is because people who winter their cattle outdoors, have asked me if my haystack could be used to let the cattle eat the hay out of them directly. That way they could be placed scattered throughout a summer hayfield, and as the cows ate down each haystack in the winter and moved on to the next, their winter manure would be more distrubuted over a greater area, instead of an entire winter's worth concentrated up by the barn (and with them continually standing in it!). Since I don't have cows( or sheep), I haven't been able to test this. Traditional haystacks that are piled very high, like the Romanian-style haystack, are dangerous when eaten from the bottom, because then they can tip and collapse, and smother or injure an animal. I think that my pyramid haystack would be safe in this regard. They are low, wide and stable. However, I don't think the 1x2's and 2x2's would survive being trampled by cows. If someone wanted to try this, I think the best approach would be to keep the haystack fenced off until you want to let the animals eat it. Then when you let them have access to it, help them out by pulling some of the hay from the top, and spreading it around every day, when possible, and when it gets down near the bottom, pull out the hay and remove the frame from the area, so they can't hurt themselves with it. When all the hay is all cleaned up, let them have access to the next one. 

I've had occasional criticism that my haystack frame requires a lot of expensive store bought, dimensional lumber. Other than the cedar fenceposts, I mostly used leftover and salvaged lumber. I bet for many of you, the common easy access to these materials is appealing. However, if you happen to have some woods that needs thinning, and a Silkie saw, this haystack frame could easily be made out of saplings and young trees. 

The succes of these haystacks is completely dependent on what covers it. The 12'x12' yard tarps that I used to be able to get, worked very well. They cinched down snuggly and conformed to the shape of the stack. They stayed put in most winds, yet were easy to take on and off. When these tarps were no longer available, I switched to using two 10'x14' rectangular tarps, crossed over the top and tied down at the four corners. This gave good coverage from rain and snow, put made it very inconvenient to access the hay, and the tarp flapped incessantly in the wind, and this wore them out quicker than the sun alone could deteriorate them. I am still searching for a better material to cover these stacks with.

I've hitched up with a new life-partner. Meet my Gail. Interestingly, she used to work for a flag and banner company, sewing HUGE flags and banners. Hmmmm...interesting! I've told her about my haystack-cover dilemma, and asked her if she knew of a material that would work. She said she thought she could come up with something, and that sewing it would be no problem for her. 

Keep your fingers crossed. I would sure like to make a pyramid haystack cover available at 1SR for you scything homesteaders out there!

TO BE CONTINUED....

Wish I could understand Danish! A beautifully filmed documentary posted on YouTube by the Danish Nature Agency. Niels Johansson of http://www.legrej.dk talks about how he uses the scythe to mow delicate native wetlands, timed to set back the dominant or invasive species, in order to enable a greater bio-diversity of native plant species to emerge and recover. I think that's what he is saying, anyway. Niels is an expert on native wetland restoration and the scythe.

Some very fine mowing in this video! And check out the offset snath at 5:20.

Here are 3 videos of harvesting grain with Spanish style scythes, and sickles in the Canary Islands.

A documentary posted on YouTube by Lucio Hernández, that shows the growing and harvesting of grains in the Brena Alta region of the island of La Palma, of the Canary Islands. It shows the cycle of plowing the field, seeding by hand broadcasting, handweeding of the grain field, and harvesting with sickles. Also threshing with oxen drawn sleds. Anybody that reads this post that speaks  Spanish, please add any useful info in the comments section below.

Two years ago, Inga Witscher and her father, and her husband, each bought a 1SR Haying outfit from me to make scythe cut hay for a small herd of mini-Jerseys on their farm in Osseo Wisconsin. Later they invited me to teach a haymaking workshop at their farm. Through their contacts, the event got some good publicity, including this article in the country today "The cutting edge: St. Croix County scythe expert says ancient haying tool making comeback on small farms." Inga is also the host of a cable tv cooking show called Around The Farm Table. She incorporated cooking a meal for the scythe workshop into her show. Good food has a way of showing up at scythe workshops, but this meal was spectacular! (BTW, the recipe for "switschel" can be found on page 63 of The Scythe Book.)

This year we have broadened the scope of the haymaking workshop in to a scythe festival. 1SR Scythe Fest 2013. Like Sommerfest, but with scythes.

June 29th, 2013 1SR Scythe Fest 2013 at Isidore's Mead, Osseo WI - A mid-summer scythe festival. Beginning to advanced mowing workshops, haymaking, and peening. Food and music? Still in the planning stage. Details to follow. 1SR Instructors Botan Anderson and Larry Cooper. Contact 1SR to register, or sign up on facebook. Attention out-of-towners. Our Scythe Fest is happening on the same weekend as Country Fest, in Osseo. The Super-8 and other motels expect to sell out quickly. I reserved a block of 9 rooms for Scythe Fest, for Friday and Sat night. The discounted rate is $79.20 + tax per room per night for double occupancy. If you want a room at the Super-8, call 1-715-597-5000, and ask to "personalize a room out of the Scythe Fest block." I also made reservations for 10 people at the Norsky Nook at 7pm on Friday the 28th. Let me know if you want to go, and if we have more than 10 people I will reserve more seats. Camping is also available at the Whispering Pines Campground in Osseo, WI. 715.597.2004 http://whisperingpinesosseo.com