Wonderful Scenery

Oklahoma sunset

Growing up in New England and spending over 30 years of my life there, the landscape was comforting, inviting. In landscape architecture we call the view from a particular vantage point a "view shed" and, in New England, the view shed is quite limited. Being a temperate climate, the year round rains bring a flush of vegetation. I can only imagine early settlers trying to tame that land for farming. Without the luxury of modern equipment to clear the land, it was all manual labor. Left unattended, the woods quickly creep back in. The lush landscape combined with the rolling terrain create a cozy sense of enclosure. Yet along the coast, the views open and there is a peace that accompanies the power of the sea creating a contrast for the senses.  

I was amazed when I moved to California that the view shed was so expansive. California has a Mediterranean climate and, as such, there are no rains to speak of (except for a rare sprinkle) from May to October. People talk of the golden hills of California. Golden? They're more like brown as everything is so parched. After visits back to Southern New England, I would show photos to friends and coworkers in California who were amazed to see how "green" it is back in New England. 

Trail through RI woodland

New England garden

I learned to love the landscapes in CA, dry as they might be, and to appreciate the extensive views. I never took for granted the view, on a clear winters day, of the snow covered Sierra Nevada Mountains (encircling the Tahoe Basin) from the Central Valley floor some 90 miles away. Talk about a view shed. Southern New England does not have any mountains to speak of -- no vantage point from which to take in those kinds of views. 

Red sunset

And that brings me to Oklahoma, the Southern Plains, with lots of open prairie offering views that go on for miles. The winters can be bone-chilling cold and the summers blazing hot. No matter what time of year, the wind sure can blow through this open landscape. A friend told me there's a saying in Texas that "there's nothing between Alaska and Texas except for a barbed-wire fence in Oklahoma and it's usually down." That might give you an idea of just how windy it is in these here parts. I'm finding it challenging to garden as the plants struggle to stand up against the wind.

   

Like California, the open landscape in Oklahoma provides some spectacular views. Unless it's cloudy, the sunsets are amazing almost every day. I don't think I'll ever tire of these sunsets.

 

Prairie sunset

In all the places I've lived, I've found such wonderful scenery; they're different but all beautiful in their own way and I am thankful for the opportunities to have experienced them.

Sunset