Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

92. and boats begin to move – evening with clear golden sunlight coming across the wide streching (sic) waters –

     A feeling of old – the feeling of watery vistas invoked in a boys (sic) mind by the story of Robinson [Crusoe] – or of the golden age of discovery, beginning with the Voyage of Columbus –

     The warm moist air of a spring day when it has been raining – a fresh breeze comes up over the oily waters of the slip, bringing with it the smell of wheat, of crushed linseed, and the vague fishy smell of the lake –

     The intangible memories of early childhood in Ashtabula – something about a dark wooden tower against a rainy sky.

     Like great gaunt prehistoric birds, these elevators rear themselves up blackly against a vast sky, such a sky as might have been at the time of the Great Flood, when the waters began to abate, and the light to return, revealing the miracle of new grass –

     Working most of yesterday and today in the yard – digging out weeds & grass, transplanting and putting in new perennials – clear hot vigorous ­­gorgeous June days; the physical exertion is just what I needed