Charles E. Burchfield, Journals, August 25, 1952

A restless night – dreams & uneasy stomach. Awoke at 5:00 and saw Orion had risen about an hour.

Bright warm day. Bertha canning peaches, and I in studio studying the 1917 sketches & making plans to enlarge some.

P.M. Mounted two of the early ones – the 1917 – Orion and moon crescent at 4:00 A.M. – (to 26 x 37) and the 1917 “garden” spider (Miranda) – to 33 x 26.

Evening – visit from Mrs. Rieman, with Mr. & Mrs. A. Warrington of England (here on a protracted visit) and Mrs. W’s – sister Mrs. Anderson. Interesting people – listening to their description of life in England remarkably free from bitterness, but permeated with a profound sadness, one can only be filled with sympathy for their plight – and make him ashamed of our own over-fed condition, our superabundance of cars and all kinds of “labor-saving” gadgets. They love their country and their royal family with a depth of feeling we do not quite achieve for our own country and its government.

When on the way to the studio, Mrs. Rieman claimed “What a pretty back-yard you have”, Mrs. Warrington laughed and said that in England we should feel unsettled to have what is properly our back-garden called a back-yard. A backyard is a small enclosed brick or cement area behind very poor houses.

The cricket chorus was going too strong. I was led to ask them if they had them in England. They do not – only the small black cricket.

Charles E. Burchfield, August 25, 1952