To Gowanda painting –
Partially cloudy, but dreary weather –
Very tired – a job to drag my stuff to the place where I wanted to work –
Set up my easel, then ate lunch. A fine spot here – at some time it must have been a huge orchard or estate – many large apple trees, gone wild, as well as arbor-vita [sic] & barberry bushes – also pines.
The birds in full chorus – wood–thrush, robins, chickadees, crows etc. – I “called up” two red–birds, and there after they sang all day.
After lunch to work on the white–violets – The two girls with huge newfoundland [sic] dog, who blundered around & loosened one of my guy ropes –
At times I had to rest – and lay on my back on my portfolio –
Finish at late afternoon – took a little stroll westward to inspect a large dogwood tree – in full bloom, and a mass of bloom.
On the return, I decided to do a quick sketch of a purple-violet – at the spot I had chosen, I startled a robin from her nest which was in a cedar tree, about shoulder high – three beautiful eggs – she would not return to the nest, so I dug up the plant I want to paint & moved to another spot –
A quick sketch, but the work went well. I used the theme “Shy as a violet” to determine the mood.
Exhausted – walk to car, & then eastward, intending to eat lunch in the Zoar Valley –
[in margin] * First Bobolinks
The first bobolink – on a fence post – as he flew low over the meadow, I could see that he as singing, but unhappily could not hear him for the noise of the car.
Parked at the wide-open spot, where the stream makes a big turn & spreads out wide, with large smooth sand-bars. A fine evening – birds still singing – A gold finch came and to get dandelions seeds from a plant close to the car – a dainty creature, pausing every few moments to sing.
Charles E. Burchfield, May 14, 1952