Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, September 26, 1949

To Genesee Rd (via Holland & the new cut-off on 16) sketching– about 3 or 4 miles west of Sardinia.   

A warm clear sunshiny day, with a S.W. wind. Butterflies, grasshoppers & crickets – 

Lunch under an old apple tree (one of a row of decrepit trees) in a bank above the road. Just as I finished a farmer in a light truck comes from the valley below—He turned & around and pulled off to one side— 

“Are you cutting down trees?” 

Thinking I had not heard right, I asked him to repeat his question, but it came out the same. So I told him my purpose. He said recently some men had started cutting down (by mistake) some of his young pine trees & he wondered if I was about to do the same. We chatted a bit—naturally he knew of a much better place to get scenery namely on the rise to the N.E.— To pacify him I commented on the beauty of the autumn colors in the woods there. He said that they had had a heavy frost the night before. – When I said none at Gardenville, where I lived– “Gardenville! – Two friends of mine from Gardenville were down all day yesterday–”– To my question he replied “Clarence Luck and Butch Heusinger”—The co-incidence of this called for more conversation etc.  

Chose the simple scene in front of me for a sketch—a long horizontal shape– to express the flood of September yellow streaming across the earth from the S.W. My farmer friend came by once to see my sketch but he was obviously not impressed.   

After I finished a walk southwards; but stopped at the Erie County Forestry plantation. Then N.E. in the direction the farmer had pointed me before.  A pleasant walk- -The wild apple orchard. (Beautiful red apples sunlit against a clear blue sky –  small russet apples with a sweetish taste. — On the return— thru a woods. A beautiful spacious woods; the sun bursting thru the foliage & sending fine O.Y. shafts onto the dark interior turning the leaves rich orange yellow.   

Lunch sitting on the car. — The enormous flock of starlings—an exciting impressive sight.  

Home at twilight by the Savage & Allen Rds to Pratham then to Center St to E. Aurora. — On savage road starlings on wires. Center St. The dark vaulted woods to the N.E. — N.E. Woods in September, twilight— far away mystery.—; the crescent moon above a dark long mysterious woods; katydids & tree crickets.   

Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, September 26, 1949