“Kuehne Road Barn”

Location: Carlton, Oregon (2021)

A derelict barn rests along the side of Kuehne Road in a field of wheat during a sunrise on the Fourth of July.

The hay had been cut a couple weeks prior (as seen behind the silo), but the wheat was still maturing – their blonde stalks turned gold under the glow of sunrise. The wind was dead calm, the sky a pale blue with only the occasional car or two passing by. It was a peaceful morning, and one I shared with no one except for the birds.

A few days prior, I was returning home to Newberg one afternoon from a physical therapy appointment in McMinnville – taking a detour due to construction on 99W – when the barn and the wheat caught my eye. Both seemed ready to be cut – the barn from wind, and the wheat from a combine.