Anyone who happened through Le Vignaud or rode with me through the country roads during hay season probably knows I have a strange love of the ubiquitous bales dotting the countryside. I couldn’t help but pointing them out nearly every time we passed by a newly cut field, or a nicely arranged pile of hay. I find something compellingly aesthetic and interesting about the bales: Their arrangement across the landscape- a sort of foreign ‘sculpture’ scattered about the fields, the evidence of the touch of man, etc.
So, please forgive me for indulging this bizarre passion. Here, I present my new series: French Hay Bales. Look for it in stores this fall in hardback along with my upcoming series French Clothes Lines. Or perhaps it’s better just to forget about this altogether…
*Please take look at Jared’s well-written thoughts about hay-making behind his New Zealand home on his site Moon Over Martinborough. He says much of what I want to say, but don’t have time to write!
It’s not a bizarre passion at all! Oh, okay, maybe it is. But I love hay bales too. And so have artists and writers through the centuries, so we’re not alone!
When we had the hay cut in our bottom paddock, I didn’t know what to expect. But those hay bales down there were like sculpture to me, and I loved it.
Hi Jared-
Thanks so much for your input! Took a look at your site and just loved your post- put nicely a lot of the feelings I have but don’t have time to put into words…