OK – let’s talk! I put this photo into Photoshop to try and see it more clearly, and used the “shadow highlight” feature to look at it with fewer shadows. A long shot like this taken in full sun is harder to look at. After that, there are only two possibilities.
There are two plants that are in bloom in this area now that can be tree form with white, plume-like flowers and leaves with this shape. It could either be one of the Hydrangea paniculata cultivars (discussed before) or a white flowering crape myrtle. Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia) are less common in the northeast since every few years there is a winter that’s harsh enough to kill them off. But against all odds sometimes one survives and gets to be tree sized. I remember one in Falmouth, MA that for years was about 20 feet tall and wide before it got killed in a harsh winter. So perhaps that’s what this tree is.
If you’re still in the area you might take a closer shot, especially if it’s when there is a cloud cover, and we can start again. But it’s got to be one of the those two plants. Thanks for resending and letting us consider it further!
Do Crape Myrtle and Hydrangea trees both come in colored versions?