My tree

It is the end of an era, so to speak.  Daddy planted this tree for me when I was a baby.  It stood in the corner of a little fenced in play yard they made for me as a toddler.  As I grew, the tree grew - and it was always just called 'Laura's tree'.  I am grateful and thankful for a Daddy who thought to do such a lovely thing for me.  I have been blessed.

Mama and Daddy had to have 'my tree' removed from their yard in November.  Honestly, they let the tree stand for about a decade too long.  I appreciate that they didn't want to take down 'Laura's tree'.  It was sad to see it come down, but it had to be.  It was too close to the house (after the addition of the back porch way back in 1990) and in recent years it had become infested with ants.  It was in danger of falling down on their roof in a storm.  It simply had to come down.

It turned out to be quite an involved process to bring it down because of the proximity of the power lines and the danger of the limbs falling on the roof during the removal.  They had to remove it piece by piece, then pull the remaining trunk down carefully.

A few days before it was due to come down, I stopped by on my way to town to take some photos.  The sun was shining through the branches and it looked quite pretty.  A nice way to remember 'my tree'.  :)