covered bridge

i found this one as i was rolling around unknown parts the other day. it is called 'howard's bridge', named for the family who settled nearby in smithonia back in the 1700s. this one was rebuilt in 1904 to replace an earlier one. i love the mysterious light inside.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

snow love

northerners will never understand how southerners feel about snow. the weatherman pumps up the chances for a solid week before anything happens. i get so excited to have an instant day off to enjoy the beauty. everyone stocks up on hot chocolate ( and bread and milk ). but, as so often happens, even when they predict 100% chance of a few inches of snow….we wake up to zippo. SO disappointed! this happened to us recently. we were promised 2-4 inches, and only got a dusting. oh well. i went out to capture whatever snow beauty i could. turns out a dusting on leaves and grass is very pretty.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

winter bot gardens textures

we all spend a lot of time at our local botanical gardens…it is just at the edge of town, along the oconee river. winter walks along the many trails there yield glimpses of nature’s structure and quieter colors and patterns than you see in the warmer seasons. the openness that comes from winter is refreshing and provides views that would otherwise be obscured.

words & photographs by rinne allen

fort yargo camping

i recently went camping with some friends at fort yargo state park for the first time, and it was so much fun! we chose to sleep in a yurt, which had access to the beautiful lake, cannoes, and a fire pit. it is located in winder, just a quick 30 minutes from athens!

photographs and words by kristin karch

white flower weeds

i don't know what wild flower or weed this is, but it is full of glory in this end-of-fall scenario. love how it glows!

words and photographs by rebecca wood

leaf shapes

i always say that i get my inspiration from nature, and i'm realizing now that leaves are a big part of that! i am obsessed and fascinated with leaf shapes and leaf colors and leaf shadows…this has been such a long fall that there are still pretty leaves to collect and admire. even golden gingkoes are still showing their beauty in december, which is unheard of. so anyway, i decided to document some leaf beauty, so here it is -

photographs and words by rebecca wood

dreamy grasses

one of the things i love about fall is fields of orange broomsedge. its seed heads glimmer in the late afternoon light, like fairies roaming the air.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

before the frost

we had a looooong summer this year, and a short fall. i was out at 3 porch farm making some flower art and took a break to go shoot the flower fields before the frost. these pink celosias stole my heart! here they are before the frost….

photographs and words by rebecca wood

hawkes creek farm slave cabin

hawkes creek was once a thriving plantation. there were 6 slave cabins for 40 slaves. one cabin still exists, but is barely hanging on. the owner told me that the family that grew up on hawkes creek said there were people living in this cabin ( with no heat, insulation, or running water ) till the 60's. what's left of how they lived is seen inside...

photographs and words by rebecca wood

abandoned shack

i have seen many shacks that look just like this one.  somehow they never get old.  i love peeking inside and getting a glimpse of what once was and seeing how the vines have worked their way in and are making it their home.  it is part of southern beauty.

photographs and words by kristen bach

hawkes creek farm

i visited yvonne at hawkes creek farm this weekend. a glorious fall day to visit a real treasure. the house was built in 1840 and is largely intact. all wood walls inside and patina to die for. when you first come in the driveway, it is all but obscured by the deep shadows of ancient oaks. inside is poetry…..

photographs and words by rebecca wood

3 porch flower social cont.

we have so much beautiful content from this day that we could almost make a whole week of posts about it. this was the 2nd annual flower social out at mandy and steve's flower farm, 3 porch farm. as autumn and frost approaches quickly, friends gather to make arrangements of the last batch of flowers. 

photographs by rinne allen

hale county vernacular

as we mentioned earlier this week, rural studio has been a place we have visited many times over the last 20 years, for inspiration and ideas.

rural studio was intentionally situated in hale county in western central alabama. hale county is well known through literature (‘’let us now praise famous men” and many others) and photography (the work of walker evans and william christen berry, among others). it is also well-known for the intense strife and poverty its residents face.

it has a beautiful landscape; open and agricultural, but also tired and falling in…some structures seem like they can barely hold on for much longer. but, this makes for beautiful poetic buildings that have rich stories to tell…the layers of patina go deep.

photographs and words by rinne allen

last of the pokes

the long dry summer is finally giving up the ghost as cool winds and blue skies appear. i went to visit a few pokeberry patches along the river, admiring their magenta stems and lovely colors. goodbye till next year, pokeberries. thanks for all the beauty!

photographs and words by rebecca wood

tapestries

not sure why i call these tapestries, except this explosion of life and color and birth and death is like a giant tapestry of life; full of color and pattern and life. if i had a ton of patience i would make big photorealistic paintings of these, or maybe a giant hooked rug, and just stare at it all day. entranced by the colorful chaos.

secret meadow

i came across this glowing meadow as the sun was setting. there is a hint of fall color. it seemed so magical….

photographs and words by rebecca wood

by the river

i love to go to the botanical gardens here and walk the river trail. we are having a long summer here. still 80's every day, so not much signs of fall. it's also been dry, so lots of plants are just giving up the ghost. the vines and overgrowth along the river are either still green or have withered away. at any rate, overgrowth is a love of mine.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

little brick building

another cute little building in olar. it used to be a laundromat many years ago, but would make a great coffee shop or studio.

photographs and words by rebecca wood

moss oaks

there's nothing like the dappled light under old live oaks bent down, grey moss swinging in the warm breeze. ancient moods and languid beauty .

photographs and words by rebecca wood

edisto wild beauty

what i love so much about edisto is all the wild beauty that abounds there. where there's not a house or some kind of habitation, it looks as wild and primeval as if man had never set foot. these are the open marshes and sky on the half mile walk to botany bay, remnants of old plantations and unchanged for a hundred years or more. wild and free.

photographs and words by rebecca wood