Karen Hymbaugh lives on a 5-acre farm on West 159th Street in Westfield. She uses hay bales to create sculptures to brighten the days of passersby.
“I had a couple extra (hay bales) this year I didn’t use during the winter, and I had seen pictures of people using hay bales to make smiley faces, so I thought, ‘Why not?’” Hymbaugh said. “I put out one that had a mask on. I get a lot of bike riders, and I wanted to put a smile on their faces.”
Hymbaugh set the hay bale on wood and used a piece of plastic tarp and twine for the mask. She found a few old pie pans and spray painted them to use as eyes.
“I only have one color of paint, so that’s why they turned out greenish,” she said. “It was pretty fun.”
Hymbaugh set the hay bales at the front of her property a few weeks ago.
“People are stopping by and taking pictures, and while I was out working, some guy said I should send it to the newspaper,” she said.
Hymbaugh expects to leave the hay bales up until she turns her cows into that pasture, which will be at least another month.
“It all depends on if the cows eat it or not,” she said. “If not, it’ll be up all summer.”
Hymbaugh said her property is an idea place to be quarantined.
“I have 5 acres to roam, seven cows, two dogs, chickens, guineas and bees,” she said. “I’m glad people are taking this (COVID-19 pandemic) seriously. It’s fun to watch people walk or ride by and stop and look at it and laugh.”
