LE ROY — Unlike the mechanized behemoths of today, Ray Whiteley’s mowing outfit was considerably quieter.
His “engine” — a pair of 1,200-pound mules — needed only an occasional break from the stifling summer heat as Whiteley traversed his way around an 18-acre prairie hay meadow.
“It’s a little warm, so we’ve been taking it easy,” Whiteley said. “It’s our little hobby.”
The mules were pulling Whiteley’s antique sickle bar mower, a small wagon with cutting bar attached. The bar was triggered through a gear box engaged as its wheels roll.
With no mechanical engine to speak of, the only noise emanating from his unit was from the teeth of the seven-foot cutting bar rotating back and forth.
Joining Whiteley was neighbor and friend Greg Gleue, with his own mowing outfit, another sickle bar mower pulled by a pair of Percheron draft horses.
“We’re having some fun with it,” Whiteley joked. “Greg’s kind of a wimp about it. He needs a cushion on his seat.”
Both Whiteley — a retired farmer — and Gleue started plans for their mowing venture two years ago when they first purchased the animals, then the sickle bar mowers.
They attended a Hay Days event in 2010 in Eskridge, which included a demonstration, Whiteley said.
“That was the first time Greg had driven a team like that,” Whiteley said. “I had used them long ago.”
Tuesday’s mowing was delayed a few hours because the morning humidity made the hay hard to cut.
As the temperatures soared and the winds picked up, the pair took to the hay meadow shortly before noon, stopping frequently to give the animals a break.
“It’s going pretty well,” Gleue said. “Give us a few hours and we’ll have this thing cut.”
Once cut, the mower will be replaced with a horse-powered rake to arrange the freshly cut hay so it can later be baled.
“We won’t use the mules for the baling,” Whiteley said. “We’ll go back to our regular baler for that.”
The venture isn’t one they recommend for everyone.
“We pretty much finished with everything else we needed to do, and we had the time,” Gleue said. “We figured we would give this a shot. It’s been fun.”
Whiteley agreed.
“Some people have other hobbies,” he said. “But this one is getting noticed by the people around town. I guess I could be at a beer joint right now, but that would just get me in trouble.”
Mowing effort recalls yesteryear
