One more time

There is a tree that I found driving to school. I don't know what kind of tree, I'm not really into that, but it is beautiful and old. It is all by itself on the side of a country road, next to some rural farmland and across the way from a county jail. In high school I took many pictures of it for various photography projects. I'd stop on the side of the road on the way to/from school, and on a few occasions drove out to see it just to take a picture in the right weather, like when it snowed one year.

I have winter, spring, and summer pictures, but I never managed to get a fall picture. I don't generally get sentimental about things, but I really should have gotten that fall picture.
April 27, 2011, the tree was destroyed by the half mile wide tornado that tore through Limestone and Harvest. Yesterday I drove through the area on my way to Athens, and for old-time's sake I stopped and took a picture.



I saw many trees larger than this one torn out of the ground, roots and everything. But this one is resilient. It's battered, but alive; sad instead of beautiful. Seeing this kind of destruction all around me for the past 2 months has reminded me of how lucky I really am.
R.I.P. Tree.