The Tree That Was 2020

Photo by Andy Watkins on Unsplash

They cut down the tree yesterday. It was a juniper-loving cedar elm, an Ulmus crassifolia, and middle-aged so far as tree lifespans go. Though they often are planted in urban areas for their hardiness to all the complexities and unsavoriness of city living, Dutch elm disease laid its claim to this tree like too many of their kin. It wasn’t entirely unexpected; I’d watched this beloved friend move from an easy springtime flowerer, arms reaching…