I spent this morning sketching possibly my most favourite thing to paint at this time of year. Hay bales or Rolls, call them what you will. You never know where to find them as they tend to crop up in different places each year. Wherever they are, I am always more than happy to spend a day, or days, in the field. Just them and me !

Today however, just as I found them and started to get excited, a large lorry drove into the field and parked between me and some of the bales. I was determined to get something down in my sketchbook before they disappeared, so did this first one fast.

After I’d finished, nothing much had changed. There was a lot of talking but no-one had approached either me or the bales. I assumed they were waiting for some other machinery, like a fork-lift or similar to start loading, so I decided I might have a little more time to sketch another.

Here I was standing on the side of the road trying not to get stung by the cluster of nettles, and used the top of a stone wall to rest my sketchbook on. Most passers-by ignored me but I had an interesting conversation with a lady who shared her memories of a painting holiday in Cornwall. With both sketches done, I thought it had been a good morning well spent.

Both painted in my moleskine 5×8″ landscape watercolour sketchbook.

The third beautiful day in a row. What’s gone wrong? Although I wasn’t able to get out until later than usual, I had time to do another entry in my 10 x 8″ Stillman & Birn Beta series softback sketchbook.

It was a most beautiful morning, one which could easily have been mistaken for summer. Certainly the warmest we have had so far this year. A clear blue sky, lovely sun and hardly any breeze. So still, and, on my walk at least, the only sound came from birds calling from the trees, and a bee which was determined to follow me for part of the way. I paused to sketch the Roundhouse from an angle I don’t think I have done in a while. I’m hoping the weather might be a sign of things to come – at least for a few days anyway.