On the downside, we found out last week that one of the two huge trees in our backyard – the Norway maple – was going to have to go.

We knew this was coming – we’ve had the tree service out three years in a row to make sure it was stable for another year – but still, it’s sad. It’s a great tree. And the picture to the the right is the only one I can currently find of the tree. I’m sure I have one somewhere else, but I usually take closeups, not step back and view the whole tree.

On the upside, this will give us more sun in the backyard, so we can plant more of the sun-loving plants that we like.

On the downside – beyond the mere loss of a great tree – is that this tree was near the house and arched over the sunroom – so we’re going to lose that insulating effect in the summer. (In the winter, leaves dropped and whatever sun exisited came through. Perfect!).

The other tree – a freakin’ huge silver maple is in great shape, accoring to the arborist. This tree is about 60-80 feet tall, with a base diameter of about 3.5 feet. It’s a beaut.