November 29, 1930 continued - August 7, 1933
commercially made, unlined white paper
13 1/2 x 12 1/8 inches
To Big red barn for additional notes – work here absorbedly and amazed to find it 15 of 12 when I finish – a long hot walk to get back to Schwazs –
P.M. Carl and I go to Nittany Valley looking for barns – a hot, but interesting ride – stop at one farm on a side road – a beautiful barn inside with young hired man as guide – the reflected light on ventilators beautiful – painting of house group –
Evening drive towards State College – try to get supper at hotel in Bellynte, but refused because we have no coats – on to State College – Supper in restaurant – late to Carl’s room where Carl shows me watercolors he did in Canada – two very interesting ones – Drive to Beech Creek late at night by moonlight –
Toss about in bed all night –
Aug. 17 – After breakfast with painting materials to Eagleville – a dense hot morning with pasty clouds partially obscuring the sun –
Too tired to paint so make pencil drawing of house I saw yesterday. To house across street for drink of water. Woman asks me in out of the hot sun – Offers huckleberries out of a large panful while boy goes for water – apologizes for external appearance of house by saying her husband gave up making it look neat so as to avoid taxes – and also says girl whom I saw leave the house had put on an unironed dress by mistake! She said her husband was a railroad man – that he was due to retire in six months and living in constant fear that he would be laid off before then as they were doing that with many of the long-service men.
Finish drawing and after showing it to her follow wagon trail leading up towards the gap in the mountains. Fire had swept thru here a couple of years before and there were many dead pines here among the new scrub trees. Cicadas songs filled the air – I eat lunch by a little brook of clear cold water – A man on a porch as I left the village had mentioned that the trail led to an abandoned farm two or three miles away. This stirred my interest so after lunch I followed the trail. Followed the base of the hill to the right thru woods. Tiny