posted 8 years ago
I think that a scythe would be wonderful to have and use on the farm, perhaps even for harvesting grains. I've spent many a winters night daydreaming about equipment.
Call me sensitive... The topic of not having suitable equipment is something that comes up repeatedly while I'm teaching about growing and harvesting seeds and particularly grains. People really want to learn about seed harvesting and cleaning machines. I love the response of Don Tipping of Siskiyou seeds. As I remember, it's something along the lines of, "That's the wrong question", and he goes on to explain that he has all the fanciest seed harvesting and cleaning equipment, and more often than not ends up using his hands, a tarp, a fan, and a couple plastic tubs.
As human primates, we are perfectly capable of using our own bodies and muscles to harvest enough grain to feed ourselves. The fresh air, the sunshine, the birds singing, the butterflies flitting, the sensual enjoyment of a lithe body moving through a row of grain are all sufficient incentive to harvest grain by hand. Sure, my neighbor can harvest more grain in a few seconds on his combine than I can in an hour. But I got fitter while I was harvesting, he remained sedentary.
At the rate I work, an hour of labor provides enough grain to meet my caloric needs for a week if that was the only thing I ate. I'd probably work quicker with a scythe.