08-09-2017, 04:15 PM
Would be nice if they were topped... would give the neighbors a little more evening sunlight.
I have always had an interest in the subjective topic of "scenic beauty." IMO it includes being able to see a long distance. Such as the horizon. Or a mountain 20 miles distant. Vegetation growth is nice but it can bring significant aesthetic change. (Podocarpus is one of my least favorite.) Some changes in Puna over past 25 years:
1) Getting much harder heading either north or south from 4 corners to see any vistas because of ironwood growth. (Will we lose the last open stretch between entrance to Kapoho and to 1/2 miles before Ahalanui Park? This span is about 1 to 1 1/2 miles and the ironwoods are marching fast on closing this area up. Maybe 20 years left??)
2) Heading from Pahoa to Kalapana after the Opihikao Road turnoff an expansive lava field once revealed itself. Stunning coastal view. Now all forest.
3) Or a drive from Pohoiki to Kapalana; used to be many more ocean vistas.
IMO it is worth seeking a balance of sorts here. It is one reason that almost anywhere in the world man-made parks will have meadows. Open space accentuates the beauty of trees, allows the play of sunlight and perspective. (Some drier parts of Hawaii naturally have "open forests.")
Forms of "open terrain" other than lava fields and meadow (or grassland, e.g., Waimea): water (as in lakes), low cropland (e.g., vegetables), scrubland.
When we first came we planted the heck out of our 10 acre property (was mostly abandoned sugar cane, and some cattle grazing). A few years later we were essentially living in a dense forest. Later we opened it up by some 50%. We can't see either mountain, of course, but can glimpse the sea. And sunset horizons are nice..... JMO.
I have always had an interest in the subjective topic of "scenic beauty." IMO it includes being able to see a long distance. Such as the horizon. Or a mountain 20 miles distant. Vegetation growth is nice but it can bring significant aesthetic change. (Podocarpus is one of my least favorite.) Some changes in Puna over past 25 years:
1) Getting much harder heading either north or south from 4 corners to see any vistas because of ironwood growth. (Will we lose the last open stretch between entrance to Kapoho and to 1/2 miles before Ahalanui Park? This span is about 1 to 1 1/2 miles and the ironwoods are marching fast on closing this area up. Maybe 20 years left??)
2) Heading from Pahoa to Kalapana after the Opihikao Road turnoff an expansive lava field once revealed itself. Stunning coastal view. Now all forest.
3) Or a drive from Pohoiki to Kapalana; used to be many more ocean vistas.
IMO it is worth seeking a balance of sorts here. It is one reason that almost anywhere in the world man-made parks will have meadows. Open space accentuates the beauty of trees, allows the play of sunlight and perspective. (Some drier parts of Hawaii naturally have "open forests.")
Forms of "open terrain" other than lava fields and meadow (or grassland, e.g., Waimea): water (as in lakes), low cropland (e.g., vegetables), scrubland.
When we first came we planted the heck out of our 10 acre property (was mostly abandoned sugar cane, and some cattle grazing). A few years later we were essentially living in a dense forest. Later we opened it up by some 50%. We can't see either mountain, of course, but can glimpse the sea. And sunset horizons are nice..... JMO.