#0824 "Making Hay on the 12th Concession"

During the mid afternoon hours of a hot August day I headed south on the 12th Concession because I had noticed some round bales in the field on the northeast corner of the 17th Sideroad and the 12th Concession. This corner was the main intersection of Hammertown. In fact it was the only intersection. The ringing anvil of the busy blacksmith gave the village its name. The blacksmith shop of Thomas Elmer was on the southeast corner of the intersection. Scottish families settled the area starting in 1842. The Hammertown post office opened in 1912 on the northwest corner of the intersection and stayed operational until 1947. Hammertown even had two churches - a Baptist and a Methodist Church. Hammertown was a busy spot with a meat market and thriving shops. Watershed Farm at the crest of the Oak Ridges Moraine was one kilometer to the north of the main intersection of Hammertown. It was a wonderful place to live.

The sun would be coming from over my right shoulder and there were some interesting cumulus clouds developing. The wind was a hot blustery breeze from the west... and my back. As a result the down wind rounded edges of the cumulus was what I was viewing. One cannot tell the wind direction by looking at the shape of these cumulus clouds.

The round bales on the top of the hill looked like they could go for a roll if they were given the slightest nudge. I have heard it happen that a round bale was released from the machine only to roll down the hill and through the hay wagon and a couple of fences. Large round bales typically weigh 300 to 400 kilograms (660–880 lb). When they get rolling down a hill, the potential energy of height is easily converted into a lot of kinetic energy. This happened to a farmer friend of mine who could only watch it happen.

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