The big maple is dead. Long life the maple.

Well, it's not fully dead. A couple of branches have sprouted stunted leaves. The rest of the tree is barren.

A soil fungus is going around killing maples. Most of the maples in my neighborhood are gone. My big maple was fine until last year. Then one day in mid summer the leaves turned brown and fell off. This year, with the exception of a few small branches, the maple didn't bud.

We've asked around. The soil fungus is a death sentence for maples. All you can do is cut them down, which helps stops spreading the disease.

The big maple was holding up the hill in the back yard. To replace the maple, RO and I planted three trees -- two cherry and a plum.

I'm looking forward to the fruit.