I’m so drawn to buildings like this…not because I’m a National Geographic reporter trying to push an agenda of a dying prairie, but because I find them charming. Someone constructed this farmstead, lived here, and worked here. That’s what I find so alluring. I like to wonder what it looked like when it was new, when there was a family here, and what circumstances caused its inhabitants to move on. It’s really more about the people, now that I consider it.

This is the first stone barn I can remember featuring. It caught my eye from the road and was not on posted land, so I was able to hike in. This is as close as I came to the buildings; I don’t actually try to enter any of the buildings I photograph. First is out of respect for the owners, second is a matter of safety. To capture their spot on the beautiful North Dakota prairie is fulfilling enough.