Last week, when I was in Texas for a retreat, I saw wonderful friends, had great meals, and gathered up the courage to see our old house. We lived there for 21 years and I love that land on the San Bernard river.  We planted many perennials over the years, along with live oaks, palm trees and two bald cypresses. We had heard that the new owner killed all of our tropical clumping bamboo, along with the ever annoying golden bamboo.

What we didn’t know is that she got rid of our live oaks and a 40 foot bald cypress that was out by the road. Plus virtually every other plant in the front yard. It was heart breaking to see the house without the landscaping. I took a picture with my phone.

So here’s what the house looked like in April 2008, when we listed it.

and this is what the house looked like in April 2010:

It’s amazing what killing a few trees will do for the property value. That big live oak in the back yard doesn’t have any leaves on it. So it’s dead or dying, too. I loved that tree.