Charles Burchfield, Journals, January 8, 1911

I didn’t get up this morning until nine-o’clock, and studied my German and Latin. Fred is fixing and an electric bell (sic), while Joe was washing the windows. The day started out with a cold rain, but later it began to clear off off (sic); yellows clouds go racing across the deep blue sky; the rising wind ripples the bright pools and the water in wagon ruts.

In the afternoon we went “over to Bill’s,” and played cards and regaling ourselves on apples and fudge. In the midst of a game, I happen to look out of a window. The wild sky was torn by ragged clouds, black and glowering; then hard, driving rain came down in great big drops; then suddenly the sun shone forth on the dripping, sparkling earth, As the light grows dim, the sun goes down amid purple clouds, edged with red. As we go home, a hard cold wind strikes us.

In the evening, I went out on the porch to get a breath of fresh air. The brisk cold wind had cleared the starry sky, in which a cold, quarter-moon hung; to the south was a bank of white, icy-looking clouds; a little ways off, some tall dark poplars were bending to the howling wind, and the pools of water reflected the moon light in their ripples.

Charles E. Burchfield, January. 8, 1911