Shady Sentry

This giant old Maple has probably seen 150 northern Michigan winters. It sits in the side yard of an old farmhouse. I like to think that maybe it was planted the same year that house was built. How many buckets of sap? A tire swing back in the '30's? A broken arm for a little climber in the 19th century? A shady rest for a farmer as it grew right on the edge of his field through 100 or so plantings and harvests.