Tobacco Barn

The rural area around Northampton, Mass. in the Pioneer Valley of the Connecticut river is highly agricultural, and tobacco has been a significant crop. After harvesting, the huge tobacco leaves are hung to dry in long buildings like this one.

Tobacco has declined greatly in recent years, but the barns remain, seemingly everywhere. They are often surrounded by crops such as corn--as here-which have replaced tobacco. This barn is in Hadley, very near the Connecticut River, and the hill in the background is Mount Holyoke in Skinner State Park--scene of May's blip of the Cerulean Warbler. The bright green is real; we have had above-average rain in recent weeks.