My grandmother gave me this tree to plant when I was five or six years old. I was taller than it at the time, and we raced to new heights together. Unfortunately, I stopped at 5' 5.5", but this sucker just kept growing.

It got struck by lightning one year, and a huge portion of the tree was left lying in the road. My dad was supposed to patch up the tree, but he never did. "It's too late now, honey," he said when I shrieked at him. "The tree is going to die."

But here we are, three years later. I hope it outlives us all.

P.S. Really, I just wanted an excuse to post a picture of the leaves and the sky. I mean, the story is true and all, but who cares, right? Autumn is just too darn beautiful for its own good.