Hay or Straw?

I am such a City Slicker. I never have thought of any difference between hay and straw. All seemed the same to me. There were bales of "it" by the roadside and I asked Vickie if she thought they could still be harvesting hay since these fields seem so "empty". No, she casually said, that is probably straw. Huh? Hay? Straw? Aren't they the same thing. My grandparents would laugh at you as such a City Slicker, she said. Hay is for feeding the animals, straw is harvested after the hay (the bottom "stalks") and is used for bedding the animals. What a City Slicker can learn from a farm gal.

This day's ride was a little different from yesterday mainly because it had no hills. That sounds great to many, but what it means is you can never stop pedaling to coast down some of those hills. At the end of the day my legs were quite tired.

Also we rode through more ranch area than yesterday and had more family farms to look at, lots of cattle, some horses, goats and Alpaca, as well as several wineries.

 

A non-city slicker's dream home

In any travel, one often sees signs that tell you to "keep out", "no trespassing", "no hunting". So this sign along our route stood out as unique -- deserving of a photo.

A non-city slicker's dream home

Where are our shotguns?

 

 

Irrigation for the new crops

This is wine country. The grapes are not yet "blooming" but the wineries are "tasting". We stopped in only one where Vickie and Gerry did some of the tasting and purchased a bottle to enjoy later this evening.

Irrigation for the new crops

A promising vineyard

This was a two room school that operated until 1974

We were invited to ring the bell -- it is VERY loud

 

Beautiful stairway inside the school now leads to offices of the winery

 

Justin had made his thoughts quite clear

From the L'Ecole the route took us through more farmland.

Justin had made his thoughts quite clear

Lots of farm animals along the way -- cattle, horses, goats, alpaca

 

Tumble down farm building (I like these a lot)

 

Working plow horses had my attention for a while

Back in town for our tea crumpets and then to our hotel for a dip in the (outdoor) pool and a soak in the (outdoor) hot tub. A fine day.

Posted with Blogsy