Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, August 7, 1914

August 7, 1914

Continued drought. Oriole sings at morning - hearing it, it seems not so hot. Dandelions speckle a lawn on depot. The blooming does not seem general. A strong wind from the S.W. bringing a beautiful dense blue haze, which is equal to the sky itself. Dust opaqued plants are curling, and yet the sending forth exquisite flowers is unabated. Cornblades curling splitting. The wind no longer rustles the leaves - it rattles them - papery sound.

     A crescent spot pursues its shadow over the grass, and it seems as tho he lost sight of it by his aimless flight. The south­west sky is white, and the whitened, mist-blued trees seem ever on the point of fading into it.

     About 5:00 (4:00 central time) the sun goes out, and before six o’clock it is almost too dark to see. Out of work, I saw that the whole western sky was obscured by a bank of dark clouds. A slight breeze. When I got to the new P.O. Bldg. the wind-storm broke. There was no preliminary warning - one moment of unsuspicious calm, the next moment one of world blotted out in solid avalanche of dust. Thus in one moment we had become isolated. For one short space we were lost in the cloud. Then faintly here & there a tree appeared momentarily & vanished - now a steeple & again some women with flying skirts pursuing her hat. There a flood of creamy yellow ran over a grape arbor to be blotted out the next breath by a swirl of ochreish dust. The air was full of leaves, shingles & flying limbs + the sound of ripping leaves. Thus do air & earth become one. All the accumulation of the weeks of drought was caught and whirled aloft in those few brief moments. Thus is the mingling of grounds. This was a union it seemed of sky earth and air. This was the wild poetry of wind and dust!!  The sight of the hugely flying trees, trees in this great harmonizer dust, was one that caused the soul to expand almost to the bursting point.

     After the loose dust has been spirited away the wind came on comparatively clean and very cool. Very little rain fell,not enough indeed to allay, the dust, merely a filmy layer which would evaporate in the dry air quickly without the aid of wind or sun.

     Night is soft & downy in appearance.

     Last night was midsummer's eve but I did not take advantage of it. Perhaps the night of the fourth was near enough.

Charles Burchfield, Journals, August 7, 1914