Even Though The First Day of May Was Positively Lovely...

Painting in the field on this first day of May was a positively lovely way to begin the month.  The sun was shining brightly with barely a cloud in the sky.  With my toque on my head, it was necessary to put on my hood to block the wind from the back of my neck.  It is a good thing I always carry a thin cotton scarf in my camera bag.  The wind made my eyes water onto my page.  I actually could use my tears to help the watercolour paint spread across my page.

My dog Lucy accompanied me.  She curiously sniffed about, and later began to whine and bark that a stranger in a truck pulled over on the side of the road.  Meadow larks welcomed us to the morning, a pair of geese flew low over our heads, a bee hummed good morning and a few large ants climbed upon our legs interested in seeing what we were doing.

My Sketchbook Skool assignment  was to do an urban sketch, but since I live in the country, I decided to sketch how our rural setting is beginning to look like an urban setting .  I have mentioned this before, but the recent news of another development directly to the west of us has stirred up sad feelings again.

The development to the south west of us has left a sour taste in my mouth.  The people have put up a huge, ugly black net to block the west winds, and it also blocks the view of the distant fields, prairie, trees and the great big sky.    They have also left huge black piles of dirt laying on the once native prairie.

I love being in the country, and it is hard to share it with others when they keep disturbing the native prairie, the skies and the quiet country roads.

It was wonderful to sit in the field doing what I love, drawing and painting and being in nature.  Even though the spring birds filled the air with their cheerful songs, I still felt sadness, seeing the history of the past disappear.