Vanitas

This is not a terribly distinguished photo, and mostly about the story. Last week I noticed a crew cutting down some sizable trees in a yard in my neighborhood. This is always distressing, and I decided to check to see if the above tree, near the place I lived in five years ago, was still there. As you can see, it is still doing its patient work of breaking up the asphalt and seems to have sprouted a relative since my time. Things with roots are patient. In the Other City (as this Oaklander refers to San Francisco) there is a tree court. People have to prove to a judge that there is a reason to cut down a tree of mature years on their property. Maybe that's true in other cities?

Why the crown in the corner? Just an example of  the human need to assert primacy as a contrast to the tree. Crowns abound in the city of Oakland for extremely humble businesses.