This is a very hard day for me and I know I am getting overly emotional but just can’t seem to fight the tears off.  When we returned from our trip to New York I noticed my oldest) Douglas Fir which is from old growth forest was shedding needles EVERYWHERE.  Her “fir” was literally falling out by the wheelbarrow fulls.

This beautiful tree is one of 6 old growth firs on the property that provide shade and protection for my family as well as countless broods of owls, chickadees, Douglas squirrels, woodpeckers and hummingbirds etc etc etc.   How many generations has this old girl ushered into the world!! The photo above shows the entry to my garden..the large trunk is my lovely lady!

I tried to put the inevitable out of my mind by last night was my last night being graced by her towering presence  silouetted in the sunset.  I had to do something to say goodbye so I set up a shrine with fresh picked flowers and incense and sat with my glass of wine in the garden and blubbered like a baby.  I’m so hopeless!!!

Bling Bling was so overcome with sadness she wanted to hug the tree so I helped her up.  You can see the weeping sap on the bark below Bling.  It all happened so fast we still have no idea why the tree is dying

This single “tear” I photographed last spring on this very tree and was most likely the first sign we had a problem but firs do drip sap in the spring so we didn’t think a thing of it.

I asked the tree guys to leave a tall stump that is bistro table height providing she didnt’ die of disease.  I wouldn’t want anything to spread to my other gentle giants!!  This will be my special sitting place for years to come.  This graceful lady will be with me always.

Farewell my special friend…this quote below is from 1938 when you were starting your golden years

“The oaks and the pines, and their brethren of the wood, have seen so many suns rise and set, so many seasons come and go, and so many generations pass into silence, that we may well wonder what “the story of the trees” would be to us if they had tongues to tell it, or we ears fine enough to understand.”

~Author Unknown, quoted in Quotations for Special Occasions by Maud van Buren, 1938