Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967)

93. rain fell quite heavily, once so much I had to take my painting into the car. In spite of these minor interruptions I was able to work most of the afternoon.

     The tree that I included in my picture, was the last of a row, behind which the land ascended upward abruptly, composed mostly of pasture and wooded (CD). The sound of various obscure activities came from this area - the screen of trees was so dense, that I could only see small portions of the scene beyond. There was the clank of some sort of machinery, men's voices, and occasionally the bawling of a young heifer; which had a contrivance about its neck to prevent it sucking. Later in the afternoon, one of the men apparently was trying to bring the cows in to be milked, and it called for a lot of shouting, running, and cursing. Far from being annoying, these vague goingson, seemed only to make the whole area behind the tree screen one of mystery.

     After I had finished, I set out in the car to find a place to eat my lunch and spend the evening - I decided it had to be hilly, with dead grass, and a dark mysterious wood crowning the hill. I drove up one road and down another, for several miles without finding a spot I wanted. Just as I had about given up, I found it just after I had made a turn west on the Matteson Corner Road. (I suppose this road to be the same as the one I had made my sketch on, but that was the Allen Road, as I learned later.

     I sat on a grassy bank by the road, with a wide spreading view to the west, a pasture and dense woods at my back. The day had subsided into a calm dreamy evening - vague misty