this one took my breath away, in the clinch valley, in tennessee. the foundation and chimneys were built of huge blocks of limestone. by the kitchen door, an old coal crate spilling its contents on the ground, the coal shovel still in it. some dying crabapples and a determined clump of peonies were all that remained of the plantings, but there was a good crop of wild burdock all around the foundation. an old shed and a barn on a nearby hill were all that remained of outbuildings.
photographs and words by rebecca wood