So long ol' tree

When we bought this house, one of the features we LOVED was our beloved tree. This tree sat right in the middle of our backyard. I called it my Charlie Brown tree even though it's a big ol' tree. It was about the ugliest tree I've ever seen yet I still loved it. Last summer we put a large perennial garden around the base. I have been tending it and loving on it for a year now. I had plants in it that required shade as well as sun. This tree provided for both. Well last night some wicked storm blew threw and just after the power went out, our tree went down. Right through our fence and vegetable garden. But a couple of amazing things did happen. The tree hit 2/3 of our garden leaving the tomato plants completely untouched. And the bird feeder sitting right next to the tree is still intact. And the perennial garden - I only lost one hosta. And if you know anything about hostas, it's a super easy plant to grow and split so I'll just split one from the side of the house and put it in the missing spot.

Something we did not know about this tree was that there was a family of raccoons living in the hollowed out trunk. I am very perplexed by this discovery because I have NEVER EVER seen the raccoon. I am outside in the backyard every single day and have spent a lot of time looking at this tree. About a week ago, our neighbor did tell me that he had some "strange looking poop" in his yard and that something has eaten their tomatoes but we never thought it was a raccoon from my tree. I guess I need to call animal control to come out and remove the litter before the tree guy comes to take it down.

Honestly, Griffin and I cried last night over the tree. Those of you who have been to our house know how much I loved that thing.

Well here are some pictures of our mess.

And here is a picture from early June of our perennial garden. It looks so small and bare compared to what it looks like today. Those of you not from the north must note that early June is still spring for us up here!