Haying, Napping and 4 boys

We (mostly Dennis) farm alfalfa hay and some grain, but hay is our main crop. We try to raise high quality alfalfa, selling it do dairy farmers. The high protein hay helps the dairy cows produce more milk, therefore they get better yields, and we get more money.

In one summer, we usually get 3 cuttings of hay (meaning we will cut each field 3 times). The process works something like this, cut the hay, few days later it is raked, and a few days after that baled. The baling part of the process is really where the point of my story comes into play. Alfalfa needs to be baled when it is not too wet, or not too dry. It must have the right amount of moisture to keep the leaves on the stems, but not so much as to produce mold or even worse burn. Burn can actually catch the hay on fire, catching your barn on fire and causing a great amount of damage and money loss. SO, most of the time the hay is baled in the middle of the night when the dew is just right.

Well, that makes for one tired farmer as 1st cutting comes to a close. Three weeks of sleeplessness is pretty tough on a guy. My poor husband tries to catch a few z's when he can. Often times, he comes home mid-afternoon, eats, and sits in the recliner for a power nap. The boys are usually playing outside or even in the toy room. However, the moment Dennis falls asleep their "bother daddy" radar is turned on and they swoop in for the kill. He could be sitting in that chair for 25 minutes and not one of the 4 will say a word to him or touch him in anyway. But, the very second he goes to sleep Connor is ready to play catch,  Grady needs help reading his book, Kellen wants to change his clothes for the 4th time in one hour, or Keagan wants to sit in his lap. Many times when they are requesting his assistance, I am no more than 15 feet away. They never ask him to help with things when I am cooking dinner and he is reading the newspaper. That is when they always come to me. If he is asleep, that is the very second they need him and only him to help.

This is not something Dennis is making up. I have seen the very phenomena in action. Unbelievable but true. Haying is tough on any guy, but when you have 4 little ones in the house it is a bit rougher than normal.