That tree I mentioned that fell over in our yard recently? It was a flowering plum tree, and one of the first things to bloom here each year, a sign of spring just around the corner. We always looked forward to seeing that tree all covered in those beautiful pink blossoms. Even after the tree fell this year, the tiny buds opened and the tree flowered for us one last time, as it laid over on it’s side. Jeff cut a bunch of the flowering branches, and filled a vase with them to bring inside, a final tribute to the tree.

That type of tree is planted for the flowers, not the fruit, but Jeff and Bracken did eat some small plums off of it one year. I know you long time readers have seen pictures of the flowering plum tree many times before. The tree hadn’t been healthy for a few years, and I know that made it easier for all of us when we saw it had come down. We thanked the tree for all the beauty it gave for so long, and then we savored looking at the little pink flowers in the vase in the kitchen until the last of the petals fell.

We have a little cherry tree I think we’ll be planting in that spot…

P.S. This is one of Jeff’s favorite pictures of the tree near the pond he built, that he took back in 2004, before I moved here. The petals would come down like snow, covering everything.