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Nightfall: Our Appalachian farm in words and photos

Nightfall: Our Appalachian farm in words and photos

PHOTOS BY MARK LYNN FERGUSON.

"Modern torches, my headlights, will cast trees as black bronchioles against an indigo sky."

In 2021, my husband and I bought the Dearing farm in Stewartsville, Virginia, which was founded by my ancestors in the 1850s. Though I'd visited countless times before it became ours, I'd never once been on the land after dark. 


Man, was I missing out.


As the sun sets, the farm's sprawling hillsides seem to move closer, creating an intimacy that's hard to describe. But I give it a try in the below video.

FARM FRESH FOODS

I don't know if I should call this little clip a poem or prose, but it started with pictures. Driving around the farm after nightfall, I was struck by the views my headlights created. In their sharp, golden cast, our familiar tobacco barn and hillsides took on an etheral quality.


Weeks later, as I looked at shots from that night, words and phrases began to trickle out. When paired with the images and a lovely tune from River Foxcroft, they formed a visual tribute to the wonder I see on our farm at night.


Mark Lynn Ferguson founded Woodshed. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Virginia Living, and many Appalachian publications. He lives in Roanoke, Virginia, where he loves cooking a mess of fried taters, picking pawpaws, and exploring the old family farm he and his husband bought in 2021.

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