Make hay while the sun shines

On Monday the lanes in our village were unusually busy with huge tractors rushing hither and thither, passing our house pulling empty trailers and then returning a short while later laden with cut grass. While Bob Dylan once sang that you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, I think I can safely say that farmers can sometimes let you know that the weather is about to change. After a week or two of beautiful sunshine here on the Somerset and Dorset border, the pace at which the farmers were silaging suddenly increased.

Three weeks ago our morning and evening walks were punctuated by regular stops to lean on five bar gates and marvel at vast grassy meadows filled with wild flowers. Since then, one by one each field has been cut to make silage, a task that seemed to come to a head at the start of this week for our local farmers. They clearly knew the weather was about to change and that cutting the fields, leaving the grass to dry and then bringing it in before the rain was going to be tricky. So from first light on Monday until well after dark, the lanes were abuzz with farmers in their tractors racing against the clock to finish off this vital task.

I bet Bertie's busy at this time of year.

We all need to think about making hay while the sun shines. For farmers of course, this has a literal as well as metaphorical meaning. For the rest of us, it’s a bit like carpe diem, life is short or you only live once. It’s all too easy to get bogged down in those necessary and regular tasks that dominate our waking hours and can leave us feeling, as we drift off to sleep at the end of another busy day, just where did all that time go?

From the moment we wake up and get ready for work, or get the children ready for school, then take ourselves to work or the kids to school, through the working day to an evening of cooking meals, washing up and getting the kids and/or ourselves ready for bed, it would be all too easy to complain that we just don’t have the time to stop and take a breath, never mind try and make the most of the world around us. Those of us with children can take inspiration from their innocent curiosity and innate ability to find joy and wonder in every part of their lives. The rest of us might like to consider the following suggestions:

Step outside and take a walk: even if it’s only for 15 minutes at lunch time, taking a walk in the fresh air can give you a much needed moment to yourself, time to clear your head and a little bit of relief from the pressures and stresses that overtake us all from time to time. To quote my other half, “you never regret a walk”. (Mind you, we cancelled our early morning walk today when we realised how wet it was.)

Catch up with family and friends: last weekend an old friend visited us for the first time in years and next weekend we are celebrating my sister’s birthday at a party which will be attended by members of my family I haven’t seen since Christmas. It’s always fun, so why do we leave it so long to catch up with our loved ones?

Try something new: it’s never too late to take up a new hobby. Surely we can all spare an hour each week for an evening class or to learn something new via an online tutorial? Who knows where this will lead?

Read a book: while my other half says you never regret going for a walk, I would say that you never regret reading a good book. It’s like taking a walk in another world without leaving your armchair. Your brain needs as much exercise as your legs!

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Tell us what you have done recently to ‘make hay while the sun shines’ or what you have done that was different and far removed from your everyday life. Place a comment below and we’ll send you a unique discount code to spend during June.