This huge old sugar maple has been the source of home-made syrup, fairy-house building by neighborhood kids, nature’s a/c in summer and gorgeous golden hues in fall. It wasn’t in a photo of the house shortly after it was built in 1927, but its size lead us to believe that it likely was planted (intentionally or not!) not long after, so maybe 90+ years old?

Twenty years ago its broad canopy was so thick that no sky could be seen between the leaves, but as the climate has warmed, and we experience less snowpack in winter and more droughts in summer, we have noticed that each year it gets thinner–more of its smaller branches don’t leaf out, have to be cut, more sky shows through…it makes us sad to think that someday this big beauty may not be here, but in the meantime we do everything we can to keep our beloved tree healthy (no more tapping!).
95 Maynard Rd., Northampton MA 01060-2809