Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, August 27, 1936

To Salamanca sketching- I had in mind doing a sketch of the roundhouse there from the hillside thru the trees. However, when I got there, the tree-screen was too dense to see much thru, and I gave it up. Dry as it has been here, there were numerous springs here that sent water down the bank. In them were growing hundreds of blue lobelia like [cataracts] of blue on the parched hillside.

Coming back to the car, I met a little old dried up woman laboriously making her way with the aid of a crutch. The traffic was rather heavy here, which caused her to complain of the difficulty of crossing the street. She begged a ride down town which I willingly gave her. I was rather drawn to her, but when I have her to her destination she asked for a dime for tea!

The afternoon spent in a grove of tall slim trees on the side of a mountain in Alleghany State Park. First I ate my lunch, then painted what was before me, more I am afraid from the desire to paint something than a genuine need aroused by the subject. I worked hard all afternoon, and it was a pleasant spot to be in.

Charles E. Burchfield, August 27, 1936