Flickr photo by Jared in Kansas
Excuse me while I linger next to this haystack. Can't you just smell the sweet hay in that photo? Feel it poking your neck as you prop your head against it in the grass?
I love haystacks. They remind me of the Little Miss Farm Girl fantasies I used to enjoy as a child whenever we'd go visit my family in Kentucky. My Aunt Patricia and my brother Steve and I spent hours hanging out in the barn, climbing the bales of hay and playing with the barn cats.
I used to think the hay would make a nice mattress if it wasn't so poky. I could lay my head down on a bale of hay and pretend I was Little Girl Blue.
(Where is the girl who looks after the sheep?
She's under the haystack fast asleep.)
Maybe that's why I fell in love with this painting.
It's one of my favorites by van Gogh.
I love the snoozing couple, but I also like the disheveled haystacks.
Haystacks make me happy.
Whether they're meant to...
Flickr photo by Pete Sturman
Or not.
Flickr photo by helper jonty
I love the jelly roll kind. I keep waiting for them to start rolling across the field by themselves, to the tune of Rolling rolling rolling...Rawhide.
I know that might not make sense to you. But it does to me.
For some reason this Victorian haystack makes me laugh.
Flickr photo by Motorman Tel
It looks like a huge grayish cupcake. Not that huge grayish cupcakes make me fall on the floor with laughter. (Maybe I'm just happy it's Friday.)
I also like these Romanian haystacks.
Flickr photo by gdraskoy
They look like the kind Little Boy Blue would choose for a snooze.
And these Asian haystacks look cute to me.
Flickr photo by ianl1962
They sort of remind me of the haystacks Claude Monet painted.
In the sunlight...
and in the snow.
Flickr photo by Miron Podgorean
Whoops. Sorry. That's a real one.
Here's the painted version.
Gorgeous.
You know what else is gorgeous for an autumn Friday?
Haystack cookies!
Flickr photo by JustJayne
Have you tried Haystacks? They're wonderfully easy! There are several different recipes, but I like this one:
Haystack No- Bake Cookies
3 cups butterscotch chips
5 oz. chow mein noodles
1 c. peanuts
Melt chips over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in the chow mein noodles and peanuts.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax paper.
Done!
Find a sweet smelling haystack to lean against, and nibble on a few!
Have a wonder-full Friday and a happy weekend, everyone!
Love, Becky
26 comments:
What a cool post. I grew up in a farming community where we had the jelly roll kind...I remember being so disappointed when I went to visit a friend on the outskirts of town and we went to go play hide and seek amongst the haystacks...I was expecting the "dishevelled" kind, LOL! We did have fun climbing on them and hoping to not get caught! We weren't supposed to be climbing on them. The odd thing of it all was that I didn't realize that I grew up in a farming community until I moved to Southern California and it hit me...growing up there I really thought the kids from the farms were from a completely different world than me...and in a way, they were!
Hi Becky,
Not many haystacks here. I think it may be wayyy too dry. Those cookies look interesting. I may have to try them.
Happy Friday to you.
I never thought about the architectural differences of haystack building. We have quite a few of Monet's haystacks hanging in the Chicago Art Institute, I shall appreciate them in a new way now!
Lovely pics.
Linda
I have hay fever. If I get near a haystack my eyes water and I sneeze. They are very pretty though
Haystacks are probably my favorite holiday cookie. For some reason, that is the only time I ever get to have them. Thanks for that reminder. As far as the real thing, we have mostly the jellyroll types now. When I was a kid, I remember seeing fields full of rectangular shaped bales, popping out of a big machine. That was so cool.
Love this post….
I actually have a small hay lot behind my house that a local farmer cuts and bails a few times during the summer… he takes the hay and sells it …A little extra income for him…
In exchange, he plows our driveway in the winter…a little savings for us.
Louise
Tattingchic, have you ever been to thepioneerwoman.com 's site and seen her photos of her kids jumping from one haystack to another? It looks so fun!
Hey Barb, give the cookies a try. They're great for the holidays.
Linda, I would LOVE to see those paintings in person! I've never been to She-ca-go (I love the way the French say it) but my husband has to go often and talks about what an amazing city it is. Maybe one day...
Suzie, that's too bad! Sneezing would put a damper on things.
Susan, I love that image of the bales popping out of the machine. I remember watching it at my Grandparents' farm and thinking it was neat--and also seeing them throw the bales up to each other on the wagon.
Louise, what a cool trade! I'd love to have a hay field in my back yard. I go back and forth all the time, from wanting to live right downtown in the middle of a city to being right in the country, smelling hay and hearing roosters.
We live near a very large farm and this year they wrapped all those big haystacks in something that looks like white plastic. I hate it because it spoils the pastoral scene. My husband likes it because now it looks like a field of jumbo marshmallows!
Becky, I start the day or end it with your post, I am hooked. i have often thot to write about each one. An old ladies comments. Haystacks I love and I am a farm girl so I could rant and rave on about them and also my love for Monet. The NC state fair has a 4-H decorating contest for those round bales. Peace to you and yours. Lyla K.
Wow,
Love all of that hay, it's making me sneeze right now!!
That recipe sounds really good.
My daughter went through a haybale maze for Halloween, she got lost. She said it took her 45 minutes to find her way out.
Have a great weekend Rebecca!!!
Rosemary
some of my favorite paintings--and haystacks, roles & bales are everywhere I look these days!
Maybe I'll go look at haystack paintings here in She-ca-go this weekend. (I'm so homesick & looking for something to do.) The Romanian haystacks look a bit like Cousin IT from The Addams Family. I thought I saw feet poking through the bottoms.
where is baby Jesus?!?!?
it's amazing all the different uses of this stuff.
The whole time I was reading I was thinking about the Claude Monet haystacks. Then I scrolled down to where you had some! I love that series of his paintings.
I also love the smell of hay! When I'm away from it for a while it always strikes me forcefully when I'm back around it and makes me happy. It's a horse people thing I think.
I've always made those haystack cookies. My family always called them spiders and they didn't have peanuts in them. I think haystacks makes more sense with the way they look than spiders. To make it look more spiderish for halloween I use milk choc chips or you could mix with butterscotch (for the flavor) and then I stick on little beady red candies for eyes. They are so easy for the kids and they love them.
LOVE that top pic and the Monet!!
I love those rolled up haystacks so much I had to do a painting of them. The Asian ones reminded me of camels for some reason, but I'm just weird that way.
Amazing post! And some really fun photos. I like how you tied the Van Gogh to the real ones and to the haystack cookies. They look good.
I've always dreamed of sleeping in a haystack. Maybe someday . . .
Nancy
I JUST HOPE THE NEW MAN OF COLOR CAN DO SOMETHING HERE TO HELP OUR GREAT AMERICAN START TO GET BACK ON TRACK---NOW THAT THE NEGATIVE IS OUT OF THE WAY---I WENT TONIGHT TO PICK UP YOUR BOOK AND I AM SO EXCITED TO GET STARTED ON IT AND I NEED YOUR ADDRESS TO SEND FOR A BOOKPLATE---I ALSO HAD LUNCH WITH MY FRIEND FROM FRANCE AND MY COUSIN AND HER 10 YEAR OLD SON THAT HAS BEEN TAKING FRENCH FOR ABOUT 4 YEARS NOW---IT WAS A GOOD DAY---OH AND I HAVE TO LET TATTINGCHIC KNOW THAT THEY HAVE OUTLAWED THE JELLYROLL TYPE OF HAY---BECAUSE THE COWS COULDN'T GET A SQUARE MEAL---I TOLD YOU I WAS HAVING A GOOD DAY HAHA---AND I DIDN'T HAVE TO GET A BLOOD TRANSFUSION TODAY---HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND TALK TO YOU SOON BYE JANET
I was just strolling by and found your most intriguing blog. I enjoyed peeking through your past post...so fun.
The haystacks reminded me of some bad hair days. :O
We grow Japanese lanterns. They dry looking just as they did fresh.
I'll be back to visit again.
Sweet Wishes
Sara
Good morning, Rebecca..hope you had a good week. I really like the first photo of the haystack...there is so much beauty in that picture. And I've not had the edible haystacks...I'll have to give it a shot this weekend. yum! :)
I love the thought of sleeping on a haystack. A few years ago a Danish shopkeeper was selling an antique sleeping bench. She explained that hay was packed inside the bench then topped with quilts. When extra sleep space was needed the bed of hay served as an extra bed. I always wanted to try it out but I think I'm too tall. Fun post.
Ha Chew, Ha Chew! I'm allergic to hay, but hay, nice photos. ;o)
Y'all are too funny!
Hey Aunt Lyla! (Or should I say Hay! :)) I wish I could have made it to the fair this year!
Hi Rebecca,These Haystacks are so interesting,from all over.When we had horses and cattle,we always bought hay of course,but my hubby and I use to get in the hatloft and take naps.It takes alot out of you to load and unload Hay bales..LOL Marie Antionette PS love the looks of those cookies.
They are so very picturesque, aren't they? No wonder they have always been a favorite subject for artists.
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