Nell's Hill

I’ve always liked seeing how things change over time. Partly, I think that’s because how I remember something is not as precise as I’d like it to be. Certainly, my memory is no where near as precise as a photo. How long has that tree had a broken branch? Did it just happen or am I only noticing it now? Was that coltsfoot flower there last week, or did I just miss it? And so on.

So today I am posting a photo that I took on Sunday morning of Nell’s Hill, the little mountain to the west of my cabin. Over the next 2-3 weeks the trees will change color and by 4-5 weeks from today the trees will be bare. I’ve decided to post a photo of this view several times over the next weeks so I can compare this view with those taken later in the fall. Partly, I just want to get a sense of how quickly (or not) the season progresses as well as how much leaf change occurs in the span of several days.

Weather permitting, which it won’t this week, I’d like to take the same photo every 3-4 days. This week that would mean I’d take a new photo on Wednesday or Thursday, but it’s supposed to rain on both those days, so realistically my next photo will likely be taken on Friday or Saturday. At this point in the season, that’s probably okay since this week isn’t hitting at a critical point in the color change.

As you can see, the weather was gorgeous on Sunday morning, with not a cloud in the sky, though a bit of early-morning haze was evident. A few trees are changing color, though not so many just yet. There’s a pretty yellow or orange tree down on the left side of the old ski slope. A few reddish shades are visible. Over on the mountain, it’s not much different. An area in the middle of the hill has several trees, likely of the same species, that have some color. And here and there amidst the green are individual trees showing some yellow or orange. Basically, not much is going on with the color change just yet. But as with all things, that will soon change.