A wind storm last night took down a weathered old dry Cottonwood on the edge of our yard.

It was so tall, with graceful spires of dried branches reaching skyward, and a perfect perch for countless birds over the years, the highest point from which to survey the surrounding area.

Now, fallen, it looks small and fading, as if it is well on its way to decomposing and becoming one with the soil from which it emerged decades and decades ago.

I will miss the presence of its majestic outline in our western sky.

Here are a few photos of birds, a few of the many I have taken in the past.