On a photo jaunt last autumn, I came across this beautiful old home while on my way to a targeted photo location. I love finding surprises like this along the back roads of rural North Dakota, and this particular trip was especially fruitful.

It’s colder than it looks in this photo, but it was a beautiful day to capture this beautiful old house and admire the craftsmanship that went into building it. Obviously it’s seen better days, but like the other shutterbugs you might find roaming the back roads, I think it oozes charm and I delight in wondering about its history.

The porch is still evident, and it looks like there was some sort of awning over it at one point. Note the beautiful landscape behind this house…I bet it was wonderful to sit on this porch in the morning or evening and take it all in.

Watch your step! I suppose space was a factor in why the stairs in older homes were so steep. These would have required a healthy dose of caution while ascending or descending.

I don’t enter buildings like this, by the way. I shot this photo through the window with a telephoto lens.

There were still some autumn colors available for capture, too, making this an even better find. Just around the bend an old schoolhouse was waiting, an old automobile was settled into the field, and I still had plenty more to discover en route to my destination. It was a fantastic day, indeed.