Split Roof & Grassy Bales

© Robin Edmundson, 'Split Roof, Grassy Bales',  watercolor, 10 x 14 inches. 

This place is not far from us, at the bottom of a hill in a damp, sheltered spot.   The bales often sprout before they're used for winter feed.  The old tractor shed's roof split a couple of years ago when we had several heavy snows in a short time.   It's quiet and peaceful.  Even in the winter, the grass stays green for a long time there. 

I studied this barn for a long time before I painted it. I routinely do a few versions of a piece to get a feel for color, shapes and light.    Here are a couple of practice pieces:

I may try to do it again as a snow scene.  I'll keep you posted.

Musquee de Provence Squash

The first of these lovely Musquee de Provence pumpkins developed a big bad spot, so we cut the bad spot out and roasted the rest.

When Lily cut it open, she found that some of the seeds had sprouted - inside the pumpkin.

Pretty neat, huh.

The rest of the flesh of this squash was very stringy - like spaghetti squash.  Not my favorite.   I much prefer a smooth dense texture in my eating squash.

The others were a bit smoother, but still kind of stringy.   I roasted them all anyway and we liked the taste, if not the texture.   The flesh was very wet.   I pressure canned it the way I did last year.  Pureed, it is wonderful and has made some fantastic pies.  

Bottom line:  5 stars for looks.   4 stars for taste.   We could grow this again and I'd be happy.