Country Fotos: Round Bales or Buffalo

June 8, 2012 by dorannrule

Friends of our just moved to Virginia and had never seen round bales of hay. They dot the countryside and punctuate already expansive views of fields and pastures along our scenic byways.

As my friend’s family made their final approach by car to our area, their youngest son kept jumping up and down in delight and calling, “Look Mom, Look at the BUFFALO!!!!” And I suppose if you look quickly, the round bales do resemble a herd of buffalo.

Local farmers use the hay to feed their livestock. We used them too, for our horses to eat during the lean, sometimes snowy or icy winters we have here.

Have you ever seen round bales like this collection I found on my way to town?

Baled Field
Storm Brewing

Posted in Country Fotos, Survival, The Land | Tagged Country Fotos, country life, country living, feeding livestock, Hay, Hay Bales, lifestock, pastures, round bales, rural life, rural Virginia | 21 Comments

21 Responses

on June 8, 2012 at 12:23 pm apronheadlilly

I do miss the old rectangle kind. These round ones require another piece of equipment to lift the suckers and plastic tarps to cover them. How else were young teens to build muscles but to heft bales onto the wagon and again on to the elevator, then organized row by row in the barn. The pastoral scene is well . . . pastoral, but I like the other kind better. It is interesting that here they still have the old kind. I guess that means they couldn’t afford the new balers. But it gives me a happy nostalic feeling.

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on June 8, 2012 at 12:53 pm dorannrule

Me too Lilly – Square bales look more like hay than buffalo! 🙂

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on June 8, 2012 at 1:17 pm photosfromtheloonybin

Great photos Dor! Looks like Mother Nature has her knickers in a knot down there too :). Round bales are a very common site around here. Do you ever see them lined up and each one wrapped in white plastic? My hubby used to tease the kids when they were little and tell them they were marshmallow farms!! LOL

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on June 8, 2012 at 1:33 pm dorannrule

Thanks Cindy. Yes, a cattle company just bought the property across from us and that’s how they stack their round bales – with the white plastic covers. Now I will never look at them without thinking, “marshmallow farm.” Funnnny!

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on June 8, 2012 at 1:39 pm photosfromtheloonybin

Actually, they kind of make me hungry sometimes!! LOL

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on June 8, 2012 at 3:49 pm Margie

Just about everyone around here puts their hay up in bales like that. The hawks are quite fond of them – good perches to sit on when they get tired of flying laps.

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on June 8, 2012 at 5:25 pm An Observant Mind

Yes, we have them here too – doesn’t it look so pretty and neat?

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on June 9, 2012 at 12:00 am winsomebella

There is such a peaceful feel to your pictures of the beautiful rolling hillside. The round bales are seen here too but because we are so dry it is much later in summer that ranchers will have enough pasture to bale the hay.

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on June 9, 2012 at 12:29 am Mama's Empty Nest

Yep, round bales here too often wrapped in white plastic. One of our local farmers makes a seasonal display of them. In winter, he makes a ‘snowman’ out of them. Fun to spot on that country road.

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on June 9, 2012 at 2:14 am dorannrule

Interesting! I will have to get a zoom lens to see if I can see any hawks! Thanks. 🙂

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on June 9, 2012 at 2:15 am dorannrule

Hi Karyn – and here I was thinking my area is unique! It’s all the new technology I guess – new ways of doing things. From square bales to round and back and yes, they do look wonderfully neat and add wider perspectives to country views. Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

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on June 9, 2012 at 2:40 am dorannrule

Thanks Bella… it’s the peaceful feeling I’m always after and the fields of green this time of year are always so enticing.

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on June 9, 2012 at 2:42 am dorannrule

Thanks for sharing the snowman thing mama! Making fun out of everyday images and events seems to be a happy part of country living.

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on June 9, 2012 at 5:46 am Coming East

Such peaceful pictures. In Michigan, where my daughter lives, the hay is baled the same way.

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on June 9, 2012 at 6:22 am dorannrule

Thanks Susan… I do love the fields when they are like this.

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on June 9, 2012 at 11:09 am Barb

Most of the farmers in Oregon still use the square bales. Easier to transport, feed, store, etc. I especially like when they wrap the round bales in the fields so it looks like marshmallows sitting out there. Fun post.

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on June 9, 2012 at 3:38 pm dorannrule

Thanks Barb… it’s nice to know someone still uses the square bales too and always nice to hear from you.

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on June 10, 2012 at 4:51 pm Lori

After last years drought, it is wonderful to see the nice hay harvest this year!

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on June 11, 2012 at 12:43 am dorannrule

I know the “real” farmers of Rockbridge County are delighted with the harvest, and I’m delighted with the views. 🙂

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on June 13, 2012 at 3:49 pm Cathy G

Hi Dor! I started humming Home on the Range – so this is where the bufffalo roam? 🙂

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on June 14, 2012 at 4:24 am dorannrule

Yes – please! Sounds Yummy! Thanks.

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