It’s Sunday morning, post my Cove Island Park morning walk with Sully. I’m filling the car with gas at Conoco. Sully, all paws, ears and head is at the window urging me to hurry up, barking like a madman.  I lift my head and look across the street.

Here we are on Main St. in Stamford, a stone’s throw from Exit 9 on I-95.  The Red Barn is a failed drive-through grocery store. It sits empty, and presume it follows a succession of other failed retailers that occupied this high traffic location.

But overshadowing Red Barn is Big Red. A magnificent, giant Red Maple, in full bloom. Each year, he perseveres, bundling up in bone chilling winters, crouching down to avoid lightning, swaying to and fro to keep his balance in high winds, and spitting out polluted air and ground water. And, he somehow manages to survive Humans, a series of one new home owner after another, let him stand — and did not take a ax to him because his roots were breaking up sidewalks, driveways or foundations of their homes.

Here’s to Big Red.

May he outlive us all.

More pictures from the Sunday morning walk here.