Going Wide Open
There’s a saying that you may have heard, but like me hadn’t fully appreciated before: “Going wide open.” When we purchased this farm in Kentucky, the previous owner had cattle on it. About 25 acres are wooded, and another 25 acres are pastureland. For the number of cattle he was raising, he didn’t need all the pastureland for himself. So, the neighboring landowner (we’ll call him Mr. Cando) was leasing a portion of the property for his cattle and horses on a rotation. There was an existing agreement for Mr. Cando to hay the fields in exchange for the ability to keep his livestock grazing in the bottom fields. When we came onto the scene, we didn’t have any of the necessary equipment or know-how to maintain these pastures ourselves, so we arranged to have Mr. Cando continue to take the hay off them.
Now I’ve taken road trips before, and have driven along the highway where the fields were all rolled up dotted with haybales. Conceptually I understood that something agricultural had been done. But I really had no idea what “hay” was. Nobody wants to sound like an out-of-town greenie. So, when we had these discussions about the fields, I kept using the word “hay” like I knew what it was. Secretly I was googling to discover that hay is just grasses that grow in fields. Translation…I didn’t have to plant hay. It was going to grow. And somebody wanted it and could use it.
The first time Mr. Cando was going to roll the hay, he brought his truck and tractor and got to work. We could see him crisscrossing through the fields and could hear his tractor running well beyond the tree line. ALL-DAY! He worked and worked, and worked, and I mean I don’t think I even heard him slow down. First he ran the hay mower over the standing grass. Then he used a tedder to spread it all around to help it dry out. Next came the rake that gathered all the dried grass into rows. Last the baler goes along each row and eats it up like a hungry hippo, spitting out the tightly rolled bales out the back. Mr. Cando would then load all those bales of hay onto his truck and trailer and carry them back to his farm to stack and preserve for his livestock to use.
We were enraptured watching this process. Totally new to us, we had no idea there were so many steps. All timed precisely during peak weather conditions. Which as everybody knows, we cannot control or really accurately predict (yes, Mr. Weather-guesser, I’m looking at you). This is to say that you’ve gotta get while the gettin’s good. And here’s where my new phrase comes in. Mr. Cando showed up a few days after he started all this process, and said “well, after I finish your place, I’ll be heading up yonder to roll up Rawley’s 9, then head on over to my brother-in-law’s to finish his 30. I’m going wide open!” I’d say so.
From what I saw, there are no bathrooms onboard those tractors. No mini-fridges or food trucks following behind. If you’re lucky you have a tractor with a roof overhead or the fancy expensive kinds with enclosed cabs. But believe you me, they don’t have tractors with time folding machines. Or warp speeds. It takes as long as it takes. And those guys get after it. All day, and I’ve even seen them working well after dark with the headlights on. It’s a lesson in patience, endurance, and a mighty long time to think.
So when you’ve had a long, arduous day that seems like it just keeps on going and going, feel free to use “I’m going wide open,” and those who do it best will know exactly what you mean. And with a knowing look, nod slowly in solidarity. Thank God for farmers, mothers of small children, medical workers, commercial fishermen, teachers and everybody else who keep on keeping on.