Gungy
Haying Song
“Clickerty,
clickerty, click, click, click,
We’re mowing grass
along the crick;
Back up your
hosses, turn around
An’ keep ‘em going
o’er the ground.
Mow where you kin
with th’ ol’ masheen,
We’ll scythe the
places you can’t git in.
Pitch in and mow
and rake like fun,
We make our hay
while shines the sun!”
I.
Ere
dawn has topped the eastern hills the farmers are astir;
There’s
not a moment to be lost, the farm machines must whirr.
The
cattle must be breakfasted, the inner man supplied,
Then
ho for whetstone and for scythe and dewy mountainside!
The
waving acres lie in wait along the winding stream
And
dewy grasses bend and nod and shed a silvery gleam;
The
early bird is startled as he darts across the lawn
Complaining
at intruders who would dare to spoil his dawn.
II.
The
stamping horses are led forth from fly infested stalls
And
backed into the mow’ machines with quick, impatient calls;
The
scythes are shouldered, and the forks, and off the mowers go
With
quip and whistle to the field, a merry-hearted row,
And
soon the haying is begun, the sharp chick sounding clear,
The
grasses falling row on row behind the mowing gear.
The
morning’s stillness is aroused with laughter peal on peal,
And
whetting stones in perfect time upon their scythes of steel.
III.
By
ten o’clock the grass is down, the horses steaming hot,
Are
taken from the mow’ machines to some inviting spot
Until
the scorching July sun has cured the hay in part
When
lo! the tedder comes afield to play its queer-like part.
Its
hopper’ legs fly back and forth and throw the hay awry
Until
beneath the sun and wind it’s counted sweet and dry.
And
then the raking up begins, the winrows long and round
Look
like a pictured battlefield of redoubts, round on round.
IV.
The
old elm tree beside the brook must not forgotten be
Where
lies the jug of cooling draught, sought out so frequently!
Mayhap
it’s sweetened water, with some ginger, by the way,
To
cool the blood and please the taste of those who make the hay.
O,
happy hours ‘neath the shade beside the Gungy stream,
An
old straw hat and overalls, and swinging scythes agleam!
The
music of the clicking blades, the scent of new mown hay,
The
happy scenes of childhood when such work was counted play!
V.
A
dark cloud looms up in the west, and thunder mutters low,
A
sudden breeze sweeps o’er the creek where waving poplars grow.
An
anxious eye beholds the sky, and orders sharp and clear,
Direct
the loading of the carts which, magic-like, appear.
Great
forkfuls mount the streaming loads, and rakers scratch like mad,
The
horses scent the coming storm appearing to be glad
To
spring from heap to heap, and thus do all they can to cheat
The
rain from wetting down the new mown hay so sweet.
VI.
At
last the great loads are complete, the horses homeward start,
It
is no easy feat to keep up with the rumbling cart;
The
western sky grows darker yet, the thunder booms aloud,
And
streaks of lightning flash across the thickened grayish shroud.
The
horses tug like mad; the great barn doors are flung a-wide,
With
cheers the swaying loads of hay are safe and dry inside!
Down
comes the deluge with a roar, and beat the roofs in vain;
Inside
the toilers do a step and sing their glad refrain:
“Fur mud an’ rain
who gives a darn
Our hay is all
inside the barn;
The storm kicked
up a mess, by Gee!
But we warn’t
ketched a nappin’, see?
Pass round the ‘water’
in the jug,
My throat’s ez
dusty ez a rug.
We hev to work,
but we hev fun;
We make our hay
while shines the sun!
June
24, 1911
A tedder (also called hay
tedder) is a machine used in haymaking. It is used after cutting and
before windrowing, and uses moving forks to aerate or "wuffle"
the hay and thus speed up the process of hay-making. The use of a tedder allows
the hay to dry ("cure") better, which results in improved aroma and
color.
winrow = var. of windrow – a row of hay raked up to
dry before being baled or stored.
redoubt – a : a small usually temporary
enclosed defensive work
b : a defended
position : protective barrier
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