Central Plateau, North Island

Central Plateau, North Island
View from a friend's farm

Sunday, 19 February 2012

Off To The Hills!!!

This week Hugh and I will be in the high  hills , just south of Waiouru. I will not be doing any blogging from there, as we have to go in by quad.
And in the nasty  places I will walk!!! Photos next week will explain this. The track  is steep in places, windy, ( that is curvy, not gusty!!!)
and has corners where you want to hang on for whatever reason.
During the last few weeks we have  met wonderful people, some N.Z.er’s, a couple from Scotland, and yes, they knew Cambuslang where my Mum was born
     A few weeks ago we  had a day out, some of it “Off Road” according to the GPS

Off Road by Garmin
Then I saw this in a paddock close to the road. An old Holland Baler, they  were used in the 1940’s !!!
The oblong bales get tied with good old baling twine, that is used later for all sorts of jobs on a farm.
Before the automatic tie system, one man had to sit at the back, on one side and tie each bale as it came out . Yes, we had these bales on my Dad’s farm at TeHihi, and in the early days we shared the baler, with the Conning  and the Paul families.
Later Mr Conning had his own baler and he came to each farm in turn. So much better than from further away in Pukekohe.

holland Baler at Wairangi
The three men were happy to pose, and agreed very nicely to their photo being in my blog.
I hope the rain held off long enough for them to get the baler fixed and all the  hay   done  before dark.
Three blokes with a baler
Further on was a little house, right on the side of the metal road.
I wondered what stories it held. I’m sure it offered comfort and warmth in the cold winter days
many years ago.
A little house by the roadside

Quotation of the day,  from  William  Wordsworth,
“ Dear God! the very houses seem asleep:
And all that mighty heart is lying still !”

Cheers from Jean

5 comments:

Nicky said...

Hello Jean, I love your hay baling photos, not many this size made these days! That little house is adorable, does make you wonder what stories it could tell. Have a great week in the hills....Nicky

Nancy J said...

Yes Nicky, that sure tells how old I am when I can remember not only the Holland Baler, but I can still see the huge horse from the Paul family, and the stack and grab way to make the hay into a stack,walking over the cut paddock when the sharp grass ends cut into your feet, taking the tea in a huge billy to all the men,lemon and barley cordial, home made naturally, no instant drinks then.Hope you have fine weather down there for your hay making. Cheers from Jean.

Nancy J said...

Contrary to my blog words, we are still at home, The track had overnight rain, and more forecast,and the clay is too slippery, so the FMQ feathers will get more block practise pieces done, NO,No.No !!!sorry, I am dreaming, , just tried one more time, or 2 or 3 or so on, then discarded, and probably put in the rubbish bag!!! Cheers from Jean

Nancy said...

What memories your photos brought back. I used to help my brother bale hay on our farm, and when I close my eyes, I can still hear the rhythm of the baler's plunger. Actually, a baler is a mobile sewing machine as it has a huge needle and twine for thread.

Nancy J said...

Since I wrote this, I found that many years ago John Appleby in USA invented the "Appleby knot" to tie the twine, an upgrade from wire ties.Coincidence... my maiden name was "Appleby".Cheers from Jean