The Ubiquitous Dump Rake
A week ago I went with a group called Zen Hiking. We met at a lake and did an hour of yoga on the lake. Then we took a hike around the lake. It’s a nice combo.
The most interesting thing was this:
First off I will admit that this is a terrible picture of me. But when I saw the dump rake I had to take a picture. The dump rake seems to be the most common abandoned piece of equipment one will see around farm yards and back on the edges of the waste land.
I remember seeing them all over the county when I was young. Let me just emphasize that they were abandoned. I am not so old to actually have used one.
Basically they are like a huge horse drawn lawn rake. The rake is pulled along while the hay piles up inside the curved teeth. When it gets full the operator pulls a lever and the teeth rise and dump the hay in a pile.
The farmer would later come by with a wagon and gather the piles.
You can also see one of these in the movie Oh Brother Were Art Thou. Note the scene where the three fugitives come to the farm of Cousin Wash to have their leg irons removed. As they walk around the back of the house Cousin Wash is sitting there and to the side is a dump rake.
Pay attention when you are driving around the rural countryside. I bet it won’t be long before you will see an dump rake some where along your route.
Enjoy your Friday fotos.
August 21st, 2009 at 11:53 am
Interesting information- will definitely be alert on my my rare but much enjoyed sojourns into the country… Keep such information coming. Thanks.
August 21st, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Such a Superior Snap! Thanks so much for sharing…
August 22nd, 2009 at 10:44 am
I think it’s a great picture of you and I too, have seen these all over people’s lawns! I do remember the scene from O Brother where art thou? ( a great movie by the way) but…I want more information on the Zen Hiking…this sounds like something I would love!
August 22nd, 2009 at 10:15 pm
That is really a cool picture, and an interesting story to boot! I was walking around Philly all weekend, and there were no dump rakes, only some stupid cracked bell
August 28th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
I thought he was cousin Hogwallup. Maybe it was Wash Hogwallup
October 13th, 2009 at 3:51 am
I saw a lot around until the trend began of using them as compact basement torture devices… where did you see that one again? (I think we have one on the family ranch in Utah by the gate, unless they moved it to the basement already).