Country diary: Make hay while the sun shines? That can be tricky in Cumbria

Tebay, Cumbria: Getting the grass cut, baled and stored in the barn is one of the biggest and most important jobs of the yearAt least three days of hot, sunny weather are needed to make hay, and good weather is often in short supply in Cumbria. We had been watching our weather apps avidly, and a window appeared. The grass had grown long enough to make hay, the seed had set and there were no nesting birds in the fields, so it was all systems go.My son had mown the grass and “scaled it out&r