I took this image few years ago while visiting my friend John and Mary up in Middletown area. I went back two years later, found half of the tree has rotted and the branches have fallen. Only a stump left in the ground. Very sad.
You can "tie a yellow ribbon around this old oak tree" as it is a great shot. Your story about coming back and finding the tree in bad shape has happened to me twice in a short time as well. One was in this shot where it was just a log, but an attractive one. This year I found it in many pieces. http://www.pbase.com/fredparsons/image/38640382 Will visit your galleries often in the future!