Charles Burchfield, Journals, July 14, 1962

July 14, Saturday –

Another sunny day – drier air – in the shadow of trees, a pleasant cool breeze –
a.m. – Bertha + I food shopping –
Stopped at Schaffer’s for red raspberries (she had called up yesterday saying they were ready - )

In studio, working on “The Sun and Queen Anne’s Lace” and “Summer Peace”.

Almost noon Tom called wanting to come over to do some work – I told Bertha to let him come, that I would find something as he is so anxious to work – When he came I set him to weeding a couple of the gardens, later on he sawed a number of dead limbs out of the apple trees – I admired the way he went at it, climbing the trees and balancing himself on limbs with his feet, and sawing vigorously –

Later when he was cutting down some burdocks in the back of the lot, Mrs. Hackford came to the fence and asked whether it would be alright if Mr. Montgomery who was going to paint the fence pulled some of the bushes and vines away so he could paint more freely – Of course I had to say yes, altho I remembered how when he put the fence in, he trampled everything down near the fence.

About mid-afternoon Hank came over on a motorcycle he had borrowed, to fix the lawn-mower – he took our car to take the mower over to the “shop” to work on it – Referring to his (obvious) delight in the motorcycle, he said he was reverting to his boyhood. Good that he can feel thus!

By four o’clock, I had the two pictures pretty well solved, and brought them into the house. About this time Tom announced he was going home as he was going to work at a fair being held by the Queen of Heaven Church – When Bertha twitted him, for working at a Catholic affair, he being a Lutheran boy, he took her seriously, and said “Oh gee, what difference does that make?” Then he realized she was joking and grinned sheepishly. He said he was being paid with chicken and soft drinks.

Evening music – Mozart Quartet no. 20, and Dvorak Symphony no. 1 again.

This afternoon, searching for a book to read to divert my mind so as to see the painting problems I was involved in, more detachedly, I chanced upon Yeats, Dramatic Poems, vol. 2 – and was delighted (and surprised) to find that the first one I read in, “Countess Cathleen” still had a lot of charm and beauty for me after so many years (I read these poems eagerly in Art School) – So often it is disappointing to pick up a work of art that charms us in youth, and read it later in life.

Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, July 14, 1962