Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2009 | Page 72

life

COUNTRYSIDE, WILDLIFE & FARMING

A summers Harvest
Just as many of us are kicking off our shoes

first sign of sun, or at least a dry day on the

and lying back in deck-chairs to soak up some

horizon, the combine harvesters are gently

sun, business is in full swing down at the

coaxed from their eleven month slumber,

farm…

greased up, wiped down and sent out, quite

As, with all aspects of working life in the
countryside, everything has a ‘window’ on

sidelined for the next week while it drizzles

the calendar, when, it has to be done. Ok so

down with rain.

there might be a few days grace, but generally

However it’s not just the corn that has to be

speaking, when the corn is ripe it has to be

collected. Summer is also the time for making

harvested, or it will go to waste meaning the

hay and silage to feed livestock throughout the

last five to nine months work gets ploughed

winter. Without such suppliers, our milk would

back into the ground. The farmer doesn’t get

dry up, so even if you did get your cornflakes,

paid and you don’t get your cornflakes in the

they might be a bit dry!

morning!
With the Great British weather as it is, the

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often to work for half a day, before being

Back at the cornfields and with the combines
finished or moved onto the next field, the straw