Sweet John Deere Music

This John Deere G served as one of the transports at a forestry field day event last fall in Pope County, Illinois. Hearing the G pull the hill with a load was a real treat. One of the little known dangers of sitting on bales is a little critter known as the straw mite. I picked up a load of them at a similar event a few years ago, and the bales on these wagons created more than a little worry in my mind, so I sprayed down with plenty of Deet before I took a seat. Thank goodness I didn't pick up any mites on this trip. The danger is greater with old bales that have been in storage for a few years, and if straw mites ever get you once you will never think of hay rides in a positive way again.