More Woodchuckery--This Time with Hay

Remember a long, long time ago when I said we had won a ton of grass hay at a silent auction? Well, that ton of grass hay did not come with delivery. Which meant that A. had to haul it in Big Red, his pick-up truck. Despite the name, Big Red is not particularly big or heavy duty. In fact, Big Red is a half-ton Ford. The hay came in three square bales, which means each bale was a third of a ton. Which is, of course, less than half a ton. So it's all good and safe as long as only one bale at a time is transported in Big Red.

However.

A. picked up the first bale awhile ago. It ran out early this week, and so he arranged to go pick up the remaining hay yesterday morning. The remaining hay being two bales weighing in at a total of two-thirds of a ton. Now, A. informs me that the "half-ton" designation on his truck was based on the original model capacity, and that the hauling ability of more modern trucks (yes, in our house, 1994 is modern) is actually slightly more than that. But is it two-thirds of a ton? Let's find out!

A. set off in his truck at about 8:30 a.m. yesterday. The farm is about 15 minutes away. He didn't return for an hour. I was a little worried. When he did return, he actually had me go outside to view the truck, and then he took a picture for his records.

Not good

It turns out that Big Red will indeed haul two-thirds of a ton of hay, but Big Red does NOT appreciate it when that load is unbalanced. And the roads are hilly. And there's snow on them. A. put his blinkers on, stayed on back roads, and drove home at 15 miles an hour*. I must also assume he appealed to a higher power so that his truck wouldn't tilt over into a drainage ditch.

Whatever he did, it worked. And the sheep have their hay and all is well with the ovine world. The end.

* Legal disclaimer: This is a skilled woodchuck maneuver. Do not attempt at home.