Grummet

No that is not the name of the dog nor of the shadow following him. It is the German word for the second hay harvest and generally considered to be of lesser quality than the first harvest. It tends to have more herb type content, has more protein and normally requires much more drying time. In fact, it has become less and less common as indeed has the first hay harvest, the majority of farmers seemingly now feeding silage 365 days a year. The third silage cut was done last week. I suspect five or more cuts are on the cards for this year. Even if we have a hot spell it is more than likely we will have nightly thunderstorms to keep the ground fed with moisture, Bavaria is one of the main areas on the earth for storms - one is seven times more likely to be struck by lightning in Bavaria than elsewhere in Germany!

However at the moment the weather has been excellent for making this second hay harvest. I don't know if there is an English word for this but I am 100% sure that there is an Anglo-German connection for the word in this context.

Today was lovely but there was a dry but cooling easterly breeze all day which is ideal for drying grass. The photo was taken at around 9:00 pm as Flash and I did the evening walk while Angie, MrsMY and Luna took the horses out for a ride on the new shoes they got yesterday.

And back in Ireland my daughter brought in and stored the 24 bales of "Wheelie bin" hay they made this week. She reports it is now much cooler at 23°C and pleasant again.