The Difference Eight Years Can Make

July 2014 at the Genuine Faux Farm

I was trying to find a different picture when I came across the photo above from 2014 at our farm.  This is the area out by the road and to the east of our driveway.  It was an area we wanted to get some new trees into as part our stewardship of the farm and its surroundings.

Of course, the two ash trees dominated this area, as they were well established when we got here in 2004.  But, by this point in time we were well aware that Emerald Ash Borers would eventually catch up to these trees, whether we wanted that to happen or not.  So, if you look carefully, you can see a few evergreens we put in and a Gingko tree.  There is another, larger evergreen we put in around 2005.

I recall that we wanted to do more with trees earlier in our tenure at the Genuine Faux Farm, but when you have lots of goals, you have to prioritize because you simply can't do everything.  That, and a couple of trees we put in ended up being victim to some early storms.

So, take a look at this same area today.

2022 at the Genuine Faux Farm

The ash trees are gone, as we had foreseen.  We decided to leave the trunks for the woodpeckers (and maybe we'll put a kestral nestbox on one?).  The evergreens have put on some good size over the years.  But, the Gingko has done next to nothing.  Yeah, it puts leaves on every year - so that's something.  But, it just never has seemed terribly happy with where it is.  And, we've added a couple of crab apples closer to the driveway now.  

This is where looking back can be very helpful as we consider and plan for what we are doing next at the farm.  We see some successful prognostication on our part.  We some opportunities missed and other opportunities taken.  And - we see growth and change that is often too slow for us to recognize from day to day or month to month.  But, when we look at a longer period of time, the evidence is clear for us to view.

And that is why I take the time to look back at the older photos of our farm every so often.  It confirms for me that if we commit to doing our best to do what seems right for the Genuine Faux Farm, there can be positive rewards.  Sometimes doing the right thing is to act on something and sometimes it is to be patient and wait.  And sometimes... we actually get it right.

Did we get it right on this part of the farm?  Well, I suppose we could have done many things differently, but that doesn't necessarily make what has happened wrong.  We can't change what we did eight years ago either, so this is what we have - which means it is as right as it is going to be and as wrong as it is going to be.  All we can do at this point is to take what we have learned and make decisions for what we are doing now.

I wonder what our actions today will look like in 2030?  Well, if we're still here doing our thing, we'll probably share on August 1st of that year - because that seems like the sort of thing we would do.