Lilacs blooming in a Montana forest tell of a house that once stood nearby.

This lilac bush turned a family hike through the woods into a find-the-clues game of discovery.

Lilacs are not native to Montana. If you find one growing in the wild you can be sure it was put there, on purpose.

Perhaps by a long-ago homesteader who planted it outside a home that’s since vanished?

What stories lie behind it?

The broken concrete of a doorsill is the most visible part of a foundation filled in and mostl...