Eye in the Sky – The Alan Parsons Project

Thanks to satellite/aerial imagery, it’s easier than ever to see how things are progressing at Puckaway. I’ve collected a few different pictures and found an image slider plugin to use for them. It’s pretty cool.

Bing Maps vs Google Maps

The two heavy hitters in free online aerial photography really show how much the land changes throughout the course of the year. I couldn’t find exact dates, but I think the Bing image is from the summer of 2013 or 2014 and the Google one is from fall of 2014. The marsh ATV trail is well-established now, as both pictures show, and with the Google image you can see the yard pretty clearly.

2005 to 2011

From here on, all images are provided by the Green Lake County GIS viewer. Since these are used for referencing property lines, the pictures are taken in late fall or early spring when the trees are bare. You can see a lot of detail on both pictures. The trees planted along the lot line between us and the Illinesians are clearly visible, as are the south and east lot line trenches.

You can see how much of the property was opened up to us once we got the blue ATV. The little Suzuki couldn’t handle the rougher marsh terrain, but the Polarises have tamed it nicely. The network of trails really starts to take shape here. The 2011 photo is also the first time open space can be seen in front of the north entrance to the pole barn.

2000 to 2005

Some major changes in this span. The long trail spur to dad’s deer stand becomes visible, my trailer gets moved from the middle of the yard to its current home by the lot line, and the truck camper, Jeanne’s trailer, the tractors, bulldozer, and most of the vehicles are taken out. This is the “pass the torch” period after Richie passed away. It’s fitting that such an important change can be seen from space.

1992 to 2000

Not a lot of detail on the 1992 picture, but it’s pretty cool that they even have anything at all from that far back. You can see where my trailer used to be back when it was the only one on the property. The marsh was pretty wide open, as were most areas of the yard.

Then and Now

It would seem that change is the only real constant around here. It’s fun to be able to see the differences in such stark relief.

Time to get back to work!

Gallery