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Runners

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Drink

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45th

Because every town needs a park, a library and a newspaper

the

Sopris Carbondale’s weekly

community connector

Sun

Volume 8, Number 20 | June 23, 2016

Twine time Photo and story by Jane Bachrach

I

t’s that time of year in and around Carbondale when most ranchers work dawn to dusk, cutting, baling and stacking the hay in their fields. “The combination of moisture and heat spikes the growth according to rancher Sarah Tornare and this has turned out to be a good year.” Being out in the hayfields, and operating the heavy equipment in sizzling temperatures, is making the job this year more challenging. “Those tractors

would be hotboxes on wheels without air conditioning,” Tornare told The Sopris Sun, adding that it’s so hot you have to have a cab with air conditioning, and she does. Sarah and her husband Felix own Milagro Ranch on Missouri Heights. Because of the heavy equipment and mechanical IQ required to operate the equipment and maintain it properly, haying the fields is usually left up to the guys. But, according to Sarah, who bales their

hay every year, “it doesn’t take great expertise to bale, just make sure you don’t have clogs and jams ‘cuz when you do it can set you back for a long time.” Sarah happens to be mechanical and it’s a good thing she is. “I have to routinely fix baler jams and remove clogs but I don’t get into heavy wrenching.” “I hear it when something is wrong, and stop and see what the problem is.” Most of the time she can fix it. Felix has offered to teach her how to

cut hay and bale the big round bales as well. He likes Sarah to bale the hay rather than hiring someone else to do it because she pays attention and cares. Felix has said to her, “You’re such a good operator.” Although Sarah agrees, she thinks he’s just saying that to butter her up so that she can help him with all of the other fields and although she likes driving the tractor and listening to music while she bales, she says it can get tedious and would prefer to do other things.

LOYALTY PAYS! What you need, when you need it.

Plus, a little bit more.

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