Some of my favorite things about visiting the lake house in Alabama are the long leaf pines. Their long green needles glimmer in the Southern sun, and the pine cones littering the ground underneath are huge. After years of collecting them I now just gaze at them wistfully, wanting to add to my collection but knowing they look most beautiful in the wild.

On yesterday’s walk up the mountain I couldn’t help but stop to grab an image. The structure was just perfect in the afternoon light.