kentucky tobacco barns

the first time i remember seeing a tobacco barn was in 1980.  it was sitting half-way around the perimeter of our new subdivision, on an acre surrounded by construction of modern homes.(as fate would have it, that is where liz and i would become neighbors and best friends)


the big black tobacco barn was a strange sight at first.  it soon became a part of the scenery, something that i got used to as i passed it everyday.  so much so, that i really didn't even look at it....didn't pay attention to the season of tobacco curing...never even thought to photograph or investigate the labor intensive harvest.


fast forward 30 years...


while visiting in western kentucky this weekend, liz and i went antique shopping.  i noticed on the drive along route 94, the many tobacco barns in the countryside, and i was excited and surprised to see tobacco curing in the barns.


graciously, liz stopped along the side of the road so that i could snap a photograph of some green tobacco leaves, the color so strikingly beautiful against the rusted sides of the barn.  
the next barn that i saw had dried brown tobacco, but it was raining, and liz was not stopping.


on the way back to liz's, all i could think about was that barn with dried tobacco....it was right on the road, i knew it would photograph well.
not wanting to miss this photo op, my plan was to drive the same route the next day and stop for photos on my way home to memphis.
it was a good plan....i found more treasures than i had anticipated.  i began to recognize the shape of a "tobacco barn":   a tall structure, many had shorter sides with slow sloping roofs.  i also recognized the "sweating" racks that are used to hang the leaves, and whenever i would see one, i knew to look for the barn.


the sight of the barn, the smell of the tobacco, the thin papery texture of the leaves...(some almost crumbled between my fingers),   debris hitting the tin roofs, or creaking doors swinging as the breezes caught them. my senses were heightened.  perhaps i will have the opportunity to see more of the process next fall.

some barns were tobacco colored

this was a very tall barn...only the tips of the leaves were showing

the one i went back for...

the  colors of the tobacco blended with the autumn leaves on the surrounding trees.

the find of the day

hidden in the woods!  just as i crossed into tennessee