Today, my family says goodbye to our beautiful maple tree.
It is very hard to think about home,
and not see the tree standing faithfully next to it.
My mom outlined it poignantly, below.
We have lived here for 25 years and shared our property with a beautiful old sugar maple with the grand age of 125-150 years. She has framed our house and in many ways defined the house and the property. Like many very old friends; our tree is not doing so well. The sad fact is the upper structure is healthy but it's being supported by a massive trunk which is 75% hollow and decayed. As one arborist put it, "You've got tons of weight being supported by toothpicks". All the weight hangs over our 220 year old house. So, today is the day she is coming down piece by piece with a crane that will go over the house....
This gives me such heavy boots; and I feel so very far from home today.
This was a tree that sheltered our pets from storms,
held pinatas during birthday parties,
offered shade during wiffle ball games,
and provided us with endless, timeless beauty.
We all feel like we're loosing a part of the family, a wise old part of the history of our house.
It's breaking our hearts to see her go
and we hope she knows it's with regret.
We are saving leaves, and of course
parts of the trunk and limbs.
We will be warmed in the winter.
Thank you, dear tree.
You were,
very perfect to us.
xo
It feels so fragile and strange. Your post made me cry and that's OK.
ReplyDeleteOh no, the same thing just happened to a beautiful tree that has stood in front of our house for the past 30 years, I almost cried when I saw the photos of her gone…
ReplyDeleteWe grilled out and bounced on the trampoline under those branches too. I love these sentiments. The tree gave you love for so many years and it's always hard to say goodbye to something that gives so freely and selflessly that we love so much.
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