The Early April Landscape from Above
 Organic Weave: Hints of Green in the Tobacco Fields {Above Deerfield, Massachusetts}
Up before sunrise to catch dawn’s honey-gold light, last Friday morning I toured the early April landscape beneath the wings of an agile Citabria. As we climbed to altitude, a haze of sheer, radiant color —violet, cherry, gold and willow— illuminated treetops and hills as the low sunlight cast shadows, long across the chartreuse-tinted fields. Like a fine, pastel tapestry, flung across the valley floor, the springtime earth shimmered and glistened below us. Gnarled apple trees, dramatic with freshly sculpted forms, stood out in stark contrast to the muted tones of tawny land. It was a glorious morning inside the sky; filled with the promise of a bright, new season and finally —receding into the shadows— the last ghostly whispers of the one before . . .
 The Colors of Springtime {Above Apex Orchard, Colrain, Massachusetts}
Gnarled-Beauty of Newly Pruned Apple Trees {Apex Orchard, Colrain, Massachusetts}Â
Colorbands Along the Connecticut River, MassachusettsÂ
 Meltwater Rush from the Turners Falls Dam: Above Gill & Montague, Massachusetts
 Blinding Sun Lights Fire to Trees, Round an Oxbow
 Ice Slowly Melting Away: Sawyer Ponds, Northfield, Massachusetts
 Golden Light & Inky Reflections: Above the Connecticut River
 Sweeping Curves Along the Connecticut River
 Spring Colors Emerging, at Long Last
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4 Replies to “The Early April Landscape from Above”
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Wow – these are gorgeous. The pruned apple trees look like giant Triscuits!
I really love the shot of the Turner’s Falls Damn.
Thanks for sharing!
Oh my goodness, you are so right! The apple trees in rows DO look like Triscuits. Great eye for pattern, you have there.
The water on Barton Cove was like glass –such a still morning. So when I saw it cascading and crashing over the damn, and swirling into a coppery, muddy mess below, I was mesmerized. The force of water is just amazing.
It’s nice to live like a bird, if only for short bursts of time.
xo
Fantastic! Oh, how I wish I could fly; what a way to see how the countryside changes throughout the year!
Speaking of your “Triscuit Trees”, it is SO nice to see a mature orchard still in full use. To me, this new trend of mass-planting dwarf species, only to rip them out in a few years because they’re completely exhausted, is just so sad! Not to mention short-sighted, wasteful, wrong! Since when are fruit trees disposable? (Oops, sorry!):
Judging by the architecture, I’m guessing that Turner’s Dam is somewhere around a century old? Oh, and what’s an “oxbow”? Glorious! Thank you, xo D.
It is really, really fun. I’m so glad I got my license (13 years ago now). Seeing the landscape from above is inspirational to me both as an artist and as a garden designer, and now that I am learning to photograph from the air, it’s even more compelling.
I share your views on retaining old fruit trees; though I confess this is mainly for selfish reasons, because I am so enchanted by the beauty of those old souls. Can’t imagine anything lovelier than stroll through an old orchard.
The Turners Falls Dam is part of the T.F. Canal system (some info here). The dam and the system are both quite old, with the former dating back to 1869.
The photo of the Turners Falls Dam also includes the Turner’s Falls Bridge, officially known as the White Bridge, is currently under reconstruction, and was originally built in 1936. The history is very interesting, and you can even find something about it on Wikipedia, here.
And to answer your last question, here’s a bit of information, and gorgeous aerial photos, from National Geographic about oxbows and how they form.
Great questions, as usual Deb! You are most welcome ;)