Windbreak | Orondo, WA | October 2019
Autumn Orchard #3 | Poplar windbreaks, this one ablaze at sunset, have long been part of the fruit industry’s old-tech toolbox, along with pickers’ ladders, human sorters and hand-packed shipping crates. My guess is that new trellised orchards and hybrid varietals are less susceptible to wind damage, which means these leafy rows aren’t likely to be replaced as they succumb to age and disease. Mostly, I’ve been mesmerized for decades by the willowy nature of these trees — often bending and flexing like sinuous dancers to the ghostly guidance of a westerly breeze.
IrwinFoto 