haystack up-date

A highlight today was realising I had to read the meter at the haystack owner's house!
What luck!
And the sky was blue, in between wintry showers, so perfect for a closer up photo.

I learned lots of haystack facts.
Firstly, this is one of 3, or perhaps only 2, of its kind in Orkney. There is one in Westray.
Secondly, it is not hay. It's bundles of oats, harvested in the autumn and then built up to make the stack. The rain will run off them, because of the way they are skilfully arranged. The stack is made high in the field, and will catch the wind and the oats dry far more efficiently than if they had been kept inside.
In the Spring a team of 4 people will take a threshing machine up the field for the final process of getting the oats - to feed the animals.

Oh, and the tractor owner was in too!

Happy day.