I'm going to go out on a limb here....

.... and say coming home to a backyard sans my giant shade tree stinks! Haha, get it? Go out on a limb... well, not really, there are no limbs now!

We moved around a number of times growing up and that's only continued in the past 10 years as I've continued to move around. There's a few rules/guides I learned from my parents when looking for that perfect home. This may not be the number one rule but for those of us {my mom and I} that would prefer to have our toes turn slightly blue because it's cold in the house rather than be just slightly hot, it's an important rule:
Pay attention to what direction your house faces. If you have large windows that face west, that room is going to be HOT all through summer. If you have windows that face south, that room will be warmer during the sunny, winter days.

It's a pretty simple rule but often overlooked... except by me. Fast forward to present day. Our tri-level condo faces directly west on the backside. And the backside just happens to have all 3 of our decks/patio and 3 huge sliding doors. Why is this ok for me? Because of the giant tree out back. It provides plenty of shade... or at least it did... until today. :( This is what I came home to. I feel like something's missing

The backyard when the neighbors yard was flooded this past spring

Cute little squirrels playing

As of this afternoon :(

My plants are going to fry

On a positive note, I guess my view of the sunset has improved.

To make it worse, I didn't even know our condo association was going to do this! Do you know how many Stump Side Tables I could make! Or more Plant Towers and Twigs and Twine projects. :(