Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, February 11, 1912

At Post’s Clover Field, looking out over the scene stretching before me, I noticed that a blue haze filled the distant objects almost invisible. I found I was following my own trail of that Sunday before. In the next field I found some dry pods of the common milkweed, that were a good example of the harmony of the colors of winter. The outside of the pod was a rough silvery grey, the inside a smooth pale shiny yellow, while the reddish brown seed was equipped with silvery white wings. I turned out of my way to look in Butternut Hollow, which is a tiny hollow where a few trees and vines have taken refuge. It was choked up with great snowdrifts, so I did not go thru as I intended but went around. At the edge of the field, where the land falls to the Bottom Road, I saw a clump of trees that seemed strangely green. On coming up to them I saw they were cottonwoods and for the first time I noticed their beauty. Especially were two that had grown to-gether at their base, beautiful. Most of the branches were a dull yellowish green but some were a beautiful orange, all of them speckled with black spots, with occasional black weather marks. The limbs had a curved, gnarled and rugged appearance.

Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, February 11, 1912 excerpt