We all have images of haystacks in our head. Monet painted nineteen. Piled up dried grass, harvested and formatted in group effort. Different looks in different countries. Most haystacks now are large round cylinders wrapped in green or black plastic.

Photo: Odaja near Brezoi, Romania.

To most people, this looks like a rural hobby - and it is, partly. But behind these stacks is a developer. When I’m not cutting grass, I build backend systems and slot mechanics for online casinos. Haystacks became a counterbalance: a break from code, a return to rhythm, and surprisingly, a source of new logic.

Photo: Meadows near Höfen, Germany.

Monthly events like these aren’t just about farming. They’re informal labs for thinking differently. In the field, there’s no interface - only the pace of motion, hands in sync, decisions made by feel. And it turns out that same intuition feeds directly into how I design online casino experiences: timing, mechanics, flow.

Photo: Haystacks made by Elisabeth Feenstra, Wjelsryp, NL

So yes, I scythe. I rake. I stack. But somewhere between those motions, I'm also architecting systems for slots, player engagement, and responsible gambling tools. Strange how the cleanest code sometimes comes from the messiest hands.

Pile of grass made after the Haystack04 scything session on the Lammas Meadow in Hackney, August 2013

These haystacks aren’t just sculptures of labor. They’re part of a personal design process, one that powers real digital systems behind some of the online casino games you’ve probably played. Code grows clearer when the mind steps away from the screen.