Jim;
In the article, “Sustainable Rural Cabins”, under the headline, “Designing the Outer Periphery”, the author wrote, “Evergreen windbreaks should be planted to block winter winds”.
That works fine if the evergreens, (or other trees), you plant and the way you group them is consistent with the way the same trees occur naturally in the area. For example, if white pines grow naturally in the woods around where you are establishing your homestead, then you can plant more white pines and they won’t be noticed. But if you plant, for example, blue spruce where none normally occur, you can see them from a distance, and any observant woodsman will know that humans are there. Camouflage includes becoming unnoticed. If you plant not appropriate species of trees or bushes in an area, you might as well put up a billboard that shouts, “Here I Am!. If you are trying to conceal your whereabouts, remember to observe nature, work with nature, be consistent with nature. – Jim Fry, Curator, Museum of Western Reserve Farms & Equipment