the tree

On July 3rd there was one helluva thunderstorm in Boston. Then on July 4th there was a downpour that made the national news.  When I awakened on the 4th I looked out the upstairs window and saw something that was startling and saddening.

We live in a wooded area.  It is great for privacy and has proven on two occasions to be great for burglars as well.   The good news is that you can sit on the deck without anyone knowing you are present. The bad news--in addition to adding to a burglar's comfort level--is that whenever it is windy the giant trees that nearly hang over our home from the adjacent woods look like they might snap and land in your lap.

When I glanced out the window on July 4th, I saw that one of these huge trees had, in fact, snapped. Fortunately it sprawled across an area of lawn, did not even hit the shed, just toppled over relatively harmlessly.

At certain times in the fall, the scene in the backyard is special.  Just a gorgeous array of colors.  Of course, come late November the trees become barren and the job is left for me to rake them up.

The last tree to lose its leaves every year is the guy who just fell down.  I was crazy about that tree. Its leaves had a pale yellow color in November and it was as if it was saying, "I am not leaving. I will not give up.  I am hanging in there and not dropping to the ground."  Sometimes there might be a leaf or two left up on the tree after Thanksgiving.  Then, we would get some wind storm and the last holdout would blow away.  And, it would make me momentarily glum to see that last yellow leaf take off.

So, of all the trees that had to go, it did not make my fourth of July to see the one that held tenaciously on to its leaves--and was just gorgeous in yellow--to leave the yard. Way up on the top of the tree there may be some leaves still, but they will not be automatically visible from a glance out the window.

Such is life.   Even the most tenacious of us, sometimes can't hang on.  It really was one beautiful tree.