CHANGE IS THE ONLY CONSTANT

NOVEMBER 04, 2008

NOVEMBER 12, 2017

WHITE PINE WINDOW

Wednesday, 8:00 AM.  39 degrees F at the ferry dock, 37 on the back porch.  Wind WSW, calm with very light gusts.  The sky is cloudy and overcast, and it is raining lightly.  The humidity is 97%, the barometer steady for now at 29.76".  High today near 40 with continuing showers.  Colder tomorrow and cloudy, then warming with rain showers again on Friday.  I hope we get some sun one of these days, it would improve everyone's mood.
   It has been said that change is the only constant, and that certainly pertains to all things natural, including the views from the back porch.  The above photos provide about as similar a view as I can manage, and the change in the view due to tree growth over nine years is quite pronounced, even though the trees involved are fairly mature and not growing all that fast.
  Has the view changed over the years?  Yes.  Is it any less beautiful?  No.  There is somewhat less water to view because trees have grown taller, although the magnification of the two photos is slightly different and therefore is not an exact comparison.
   Trees go down as well as grow up, and looking closely one can see there are several trees from the older photo that are no longer there, victims of disease or construction.  I do not have older comparison photos, which would show the view completely obscured first by a row of tall, ugly Lombardy poplars in front of the neighboring house that were mercifully cut down, and then which was still partially obscured by three very tall poplars behind the house which blew down in a powerful straight line windstorm.  Trees grow up, trees go down.
   The biggest change between the two photos is the growth of the big white pine on the left.  It is amazing how it has increased its influence little by little over the years.  Notice also the view window which we created a few years ago (with the owner's permission) which has reclaimed a good deal of the water and island view that had been lost due to the tree's growth (and needs to be done again).  The latter tactic is one that can be used to good advantage, sometimes even better than removing the offending tree.
   Trees not only interfere with views, they can be used to frame views, and stately or colorful or interesting trees can add much to a view.  Notice how the tree window frames a view, while lower branches block unwanted views of the road and parked vehicles.
   Change...it's the only constant.