5 ms·

Very nice pictures; reminds me of Claude Monet's "Haystacks". > Haystacks like this are found nowhere else on earth. There is no need to sensationalize. This

Very nice pictures; reminds me of Claude Monet's "Haystacks". > Haystacks like this are found nowhere else on earth. There is no need to sensationalize. This is not unique to Romania. Just search for pictures with "haystacks in eastern europe". First hit is from Glojene, Bulgaria; next from Valbone Valley National Park, Albania.

gremloni 5y ago
This is pretty much how it’s done in India as well, especially south India.
- publicola1990 5y ago
  The claim that it is unique to Romania seems to be mistaken, and sensationalized. I wished writers wouldn't do such.
- simion314 5y ago
  Are the stacks more then 4m tall and you build them with someone on top , while someone else lifts the hey with a long fork? I am curious if are similar or smaller in dimensions.
  - gremloni 5y ago
    If anything I’ve seen them much higher than 4m. Yes, a person stands on top to lay out the layers. Not sure if a long fork is used.
    - simion314 5y ago
      yeah, it can be higher, You have no choice then to use a long tool to raise the hey as high. The funny coincidence is that I am from Romania and I just helped my grandfather with raising the hay on the haystack yesterday evening but we started a new stack so we are not at the top yet.
sn41 5y ago
South Indian haystacks look very similar to these. In fact, in my childhood, I used to classify them as circular and squarish - these referred to the bases - with appropriately shaped tops.
- woadwarrior01 5y ago
  Indeed, as someone who grew up in a South Indian city (Mangalore), my parents would send me off to stay with my agrarian relatives in the countryside during summer holidays, and haystacks like this were all over the place. Fast forward a few decades and I've seen conspicuously similar haystacks in Romania.
  - gremloni 5y ago
    Ha I’m a Mangalorean too and made a similar comment a little before yours.
  - sathyabhat 5y ago
    Weirdly enough I’m a Mangalorean now in Romania :)
    - leaveyou 5y ago
      Nice, how are the haystacks going ? :-D
silversmith 5y ago
I'd be tempted to say that what article describes is THE way to stack grass for drying, no matter where you are, because it's based on common sense. Wooden frames with cross-braces so that air can somewhat circulate within the construction and help it dry, keep the first level somewhat off the ground because that's where most of the moisture is, comb the result to align surface level straws vertically, so that any rain runs off. I helped make plenty of these accursed things during childhood/early teens summers in Latvian countryside. Mind-numbingly boring for a kid, with added benefit of sunburn and insect bites. The only major difference was that no one would climb on top of them, we'd build them only as high as the pitchforks would reach from the ground. Now I'm curious, is there any place in world that does (did?) their hay stacking in a radically different fashion?
- rosetremiere 5y ago
  I've never seen anything like it in Switzerland (and neighboring countries). From what I saw, the process here seems to be: first, let the hay dry on the ground by itself for a bit, then group it along "rows" that make essentially a stripe pattern on the field, and then make hay "balls" or "bricks" out of that. But maybe that's only because I've never seen anyone do it the old way?
  - silversmith 5y ago
    Flat drying and then rows is what we used to do for stacking too. But baling, that needs a machine, right? Wikimedia seems to have a list of haystack images by country at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Haystacks_by_country https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Haystacks_by_cou... and what do you know, Swiss actually do it differently! Building around a central pole, rather than a more elaborate frame https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Haystacks_in_Switzerland https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Haystacks_in_Swi...
    - rosetremiere 5y ago
      > But baling, that needs a machine, right? Probably. Guess I'm not old enough to have ever witnessed manual baling then! That's a TIL for me :)
mytailorisrich 5y ago
Looking at Monet's paintings (mentioned in another comment) it seems to me that haystacks were similar in France (and thus probably throughout Europe). I'm guessing that what's happened is that agriculture in Western Europe is fully mechanised now so these 'handmade' haystacks no longer exist there.
leaveyou 5y ago
To me (as a romanian) it looks like the author pulled a lot of "facts" out of his ass.. "unique to romania" = BS "the spark over a very dry haystack." = BS "Suspicious fathers would often pitchfork the stacks to ensure their daughters’ modesty (amongst other things) remained intact." = BS Anyone who handled an actual romanian pitchfork [1] knows that thing can be deadly if used carelessly. [1] https://gomagcdn.ro/domains/amenajariacvatice.ro/files/product/medium/furca-gunoi-4-coarne-cu-coada-313-2539.jpg https://gomagcdn.ro/domains/amenajariacvatice.ro/files/produ...

gremloni 5y ago

This is pretty much how it’s done in India as well, especially south India.

publicola1990 5y ago
The claim that it is unique to Romania seems to be mistaken, and sensationalized. I wished writers wouldn't do such.
simion314 5y ago
Are the stacks more then 4m tall and you build them with someone on top , while someone else lifts the hey with a long fork? I am curious if are similar or smaller in dimensions.
- gremloni 5y ago
  If anything I’ve seen them much higher than 4m. Yes, a person stands on top to lay out the layers. Not sure if a long fork is used.
  - simion314 5y ago
    yeah, it can be higher, You have no choice then to use a long tool to raise the hey as high. The funny coincidence is that I am from Romania and I just helped my grandfather with raising the hay on the haystack yesterday evening but we started a new stack so we are not at the top yet.

sn41 5y ago

South Indian haystacks look very similar to these. In fact, in my childhood, I used to classify them as circular and squarish - these referred to the bases - with appropriately shaped tops.

woadwarrior01 5y ago
Indeed, as someone who grew up in a South Indian city (Mangalore), my parents would send me off to stay with my agrarian relatives in the countryside during summer holidays, and haystacks like this were all over the place. Fast forward a few decades and I've seen conspicuously similar haystacks in Romania.
- gremloni 5y ago
  Ha I’m a Mangalorean too and made a similar comment a little before yours.
- sathyabhat 5y ago
  Weirdly enough I’m a Mangalorean now in Romania :)
  - leaveyou 5y ago
    Nice, how are the haystacks going ? :-D

silversmith 5y ago

I'd be tempted to say that what article describes is THE way to stack grass for drying, no matter where you are, because it's based on common sense. Wooden frames with cross-braces so that air can somewhat circulate within the construction and help it dry, keep the first level somewhat off the ground because that's where most of the moisture is, comb the result to align surface level straws vertically, so that any rain runs off. I helped make plenty of these accursed things during childhood/early teens summers in Latvian countryside. Mind-numbingly boring for a kid, with added benefit of sunburn and insect bites. The only major difference was that no one would climb on top of them, we'd build them only as high as the pitchforks would reach from the ground. Now I'm curious, is there any place in world that does (did?) their hay stacking in a radically different fashion?

rosetremiere 5y ago
I've never seen anything like it in Switzerland (and neighboring countries). From what I saw, the process here seems to be: first, let the hay dry on the ground by itself for a bit, then group it along "rows" that make essentially a stripe pattern on the field, and then make hay "balls" or "bricks" out of that. But maybe that's only because I've never seen anyone do it the old way?
- silversmith 5y ago
  Flat drying and then rows is what we used to do for stacking too. But baling, that needs a machine, right? Wikimedia seems to have a list of haystack images by country at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Haystacks_by_country https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Haystacks_by_cou... and what do you know, Swiss actually do it differently! Building around a central pole, rather than a more elaborate frame https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Haystacks_in_Switzerland https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Haystacks_in_Swi...
  - rosetremiere 5y ago
    > But baling, that needs a machine, right? Probably. Guess I'm not old enough to have ever witnessed manual baling then! That's a TIL for me :)

mytailorisrich 5y ago

Looking at Monet's paintings (mentioned in another comment) it seems to me that haystacks were similar in France (and thus probably throughout Europe). I'm guessing that what's happened is that agriculture in Western Europe is fully mechanised now so these 'handmade' haystacks no longer exist there.

leaveyou 5y ago

To me (as a romanian) it looks like the author pulled a lot of "facts" out of his ass.. "unique to romania" = BS "the spark over a very dry haystack." = BS "Suspicious fathers would often pitchfork the stacks to ensure their daughters’ modesty (amongst other things) remained intact." = BS Anyone who handled an actual romanian pitchfork [1] knows that thing can be deadly if used carelessly. [1] https://gomagcdn.ro/domains/amenajariacvatice.ro/files/product/medium/furca-gunoi-4-coarne-cu-coada-313-2539.jpg https://gomagcdn.ro/domains/amenajariacvatice.ro/files/produ...