Mourning the Loss of a Tree

As the rain brings the brightly colored leaves to the ground, I can’t help but become nostalgic for a great, old tree. How old the tree was, I have no idea. But probably a lot older than me. It was a huge tree that shaded half of our back yard. It was a focal point of the back yard. When gardeners talk about the “bones” of a garden, this would’ve been the back bone, the spine, the bone that held all other bones together.

It was the large tree on the right, next to the house.

It was at its most magnificent in the fall. The green leaves would turn a bright golden yellow. And when the leaves would fall, they would carpet the grass in a warm, golden hue. Yes, it was a lot to rake. It was almost too pretty to rake.

Golden leaves covering the ground.

I wish I knew what kind of tree it was. I’m not good at identifying trees. If I had to guess I would say a sugar maple???? Heck, I have no idea what I’m talking about. Whatever tree it was, I loved it and I miss it every year at this time of the year.

Yellow leaves everywhere.

I took the photos above in November of 2007. Less than a month later the tree split in half and half of it ended up on the house. It was a sad, sad day.

Now, the left half of our back yard is an overgrown eyesore - with a huge stump buried in the mess. Something I have yet to tackle, but it’s in my plan for next year.

Overgrown left half of the yard, minus the big, old tree.