One ring to rule them all

Since we had the spruce tree removed, I've been looking at the stump and thinking, "I should count those rings and find out how old that tree was." Yesterday was the day. I verified how to count tree rings on the internet (start in the center and count the thin dark rings, don't count the bark) and went out to count.

I counted twice, on opposite sides, just be sure.

The center rings are not easy to see for some reason, so my count could be a little high or a little low, but only by one or two rings. The result: that tree was between 38 and 40 years old. That means it was planted just about the time I first came to France (Paris) in 1981. Pretty cool.