Days of Destruction

For over a week, I've heard the whine of saws, the groan of earth-movers, the crack of falling trees. Just down the road and across the field, Appalachian Electric Power is clearing right-of-way for the big power line that will take electricity from Rocky Mount to Westlake. Doing so requires destruction of woodland, grazing land, and wildlife habitat. Here's how the area looked this morning:

The brown area in the middle of the above picture is where trees were cleared from the dairy farm a quarter mile down the road from me. My property is to the right of this picture.

Here's a closer look. Usually Holsteins graze in the pasture on the other side of the fence. The picture below shows what;'s happening on the other side of the road. The foreground is a pasture where beef cattle graze; the middle ground was woods a few days ago; the background is a hayfield.

In the above picture, you can see one of the big pieces of equipment; below is a closer shot. You can see Bar Ridge Road in the background. On the other side of Bar Ridge is another swath recently cut through the woods.

The picture below shows a close-up of that swath.

And another close-up of the same swath.

A pile of trees lies to the left of the above scene:

The picture below looks toward where I took the first picture in this post. Above one of the big machines is a corner of Jack's Mountain:

The picture below was taken from my pasture. Beyond the tobacco patch is the same brown area in the first picture. Above it is Chestnut Mountain. Before long, big power poles will disrupt my view of the mountain.

The lines will run close to this old cemetery.

The views, they are a-changin'.

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