For years, my family and I have lived in the burbs. During most of those years, we went to and from work or school in vehicles—cars, buses, and trains—and rarely stopped to look around. People have their stuff hidden away from the streets, and those things are easily missed from a vehicle.

My grandfather was a builder. Besides homes, in one case with his brother-in-law, my great uncle, he built at least two pretty incredible churches in these same suburbs of Boston. This was a century ago when building materials were moved into place with horses, and hammers and saws required a significant physical investment. So when I find things that I missed a long time ago in my own towns that required thought, skill, and labor to create, I imagine the people and circumstances that led them to take on these projects. How long did it take to construct that wall or that fieldstone garage?

I am learning to look, think, and imagine. It’s a work-in-progress.