Is it still there?

I visited an old favorite photography subject of mine at Stewart State Forest, the lone dead tree standing in the middle of a vast and (at certain times of the year) empty cornfield. I’ve been there several times before to photograph it, including an attempt to photograph it at night with the Milky Way behind it, and this time I thought of filming the hike to give others an idea of what to expect should they decide go there. The lone dead tree was a truly stunning sight, in my opinion, even from a distance when driving along Route 208 in Montgomery, NY.

But, alas, the tree has fallen. It was lying on its side when I arrived. It has been uprooted I suspect all on its own. The lone dead tree is now truly dead and it’s sad for me to think that I now have one less reason to go there.

This reminds of another favorite photography subject of mine, a calm, narrow stream meandering on an open field separating a tree on one side and a patch of cornfield on the other with the rising sun behind a small hill in the distance and reflecting on the water’s surface along Slaughter Road in Middletown, NY. The land was developed and fenced by its owner soon after I took my photo. Gone was the idyllic scene that I was planning on visiting again and again.

I suppose change is inevitable, if not by humans then by Nature, and glad tidings not meant to last could at least be immortalized if we\’re quick to discern them if not in our minds then, yes, in our computers, too.