Progress and an outing to Llwyn Celyn.

 At last a black and white drawing I am happy with. Oat biscuits for the Avening recipe book. They were delicious too!

 I am struggling with this piece to bring it together but at least the bottom section is finished. Only the major part to juggle with then! It is always like this and no-one realises the work that goes in and taken out to resolve a piece of artwork, unless you are an artist of course. Not showing the rest until I find the answers.

 On Sunday we had a lovely day out with my friend Rosemary who lives in South Wales. We visited Llwyn Celyn, a mediaeval farm house owned by the Landmark Trust who rescue old buildings and restore them. They can be rented for holidays.

 This was built in 1420 on Llanthony Priory lands and is one of the oldest surviving houses in Wales.

 They were cooking medieval style too, in the kitchen and outside in a clay oven

 There were many outhouses and this is the barn. One of the barns has been restored for community and educational use.

 Wonderful old timbers and intimate views, set in a beautiful valley.

 The curtains and cushions were screen printed by hand from designs inspired by the house and research into its history. All fascinating.

Grasses and hay making.

 The green lanes look at their best now - edged with cow parsley and wild flowers.

 We are lucky to have hay fields nearby to walk through. I adore them each year. This is a before shot

 and here the after ......the hay has been cut and spun out to dry. I hope he ( farmer next door) got it in before this mornings rain!

 So I collected some grasses and laid them out to identify and draw. The sycamore keys were like scattered ys on the path floor. We were shown some at Westonbirt last week which helped with identification but I don't know them all.

Sketchbook drawings. Rye grass, ?, plantain, cocksfoot, oat grass, red clover, buttercup, sorrel.