Hauling Hay

Sun glints off the windshield while horses taste their new hay in the background.

I'm so proud of my little farm truck. So what if she's a 1985 Japanese model with two-wheel drive and a regular gas engine? When I hooked her up this morning and set out to get hay in Watertown, as she bumped along with her little home-made trailer in tow, I began to realize that she's much frailer than the Ford F-250 with which we have been picking up hay. This gal has an advantage though because the Ford has a cap over its bed. Driving on the flat, my little Isuzu should be the better hauling truck; however, the roads are a mite bit hilly around here, and our hay storage is located on top of our hill--above even the barn.

While tooling along the road to the Shipper barn, surrounded by the beautifully greening countryside, we sailed down one hill and passed a heavy-duty logging truck chugging uphill. That's when I began to get concerned. I'd picked up hay in the truck along, before, but would she surmount the inclines towing a trailer loaded with hay?

Playing it safe, we loaded her lightly and the guys who helped to load her followed me back to the main road after we left. Why was I worried? My little truck made the journey easily, not once toiling as the logging truck had done earlier in the day.

The horses, goats, and alpacas were glad to see us return, with another week's worth of hay (actually more) in tow. I was glad to have made it home safely and with the needed feed.