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Hay! Heave-ho!

The adolescents unloaded and stacked 250 bales of hay on Tuesday. In a grand display of physical unison, the kids slung 50-pound bales from a conveyor belt that carried the hay from an enormous flatbed trailer to the barn loft. It was exhausting work – sneezy and itchy too. But there was great satisfaction in seeing the loft replenished with tall, tidy, fragrant stacks of sweet autumn hay -- a full pantry for the winter. Hay is hard to come by this year. The drought stunted growth in the fields across our region. The price per bale is sky high, as we all pay the price of climate change, weather patterns that affect what grows and what doesn’t, and the livelihood of local farmers. Haying is under way in the field at our own farm, but that hay is too low in protein for our dairy goats. That hay goes to the cattle at a nearby farm, but the adolescents observe up close the ingenious process that converts a field of grass to bales of hay. How much hay is that? How many bales of hay from a five-acre field? How much is five acres? How do you know the protein content? What is protein exactly? Why do dairy goats need extra protein? As Maria Montessori knew, practical work on the land inspires study.  

Along with our own hay, we unloaded and stacked 75 bales for a neighbor. The adolescents asked about pay for that work, but sometimes the pay is in the form of stronger communities, and a little old-fashioned neighborliness helps build the good will that is at the root of community and a Montessori education.  

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