Purging the old

It seems life comes at me so fast I can hardly keep up.  I've tried to reflect on the past year and consider what I'd like to do this year.  Sometimes it seems I barely keep up with the day-to-day requirements, much less accomplish bigger projects.  Still, January seems to be a good time to purge the old, and today I burned the quince and some limbs of the goldenrain tree that Caleb had cut down.  I also cut down a red cedar topiary and burned part of it.  I had some misgivings about having the goldenrain tree cut.  I had gotten it from the Arbor Day Foundation.  It has pretty yellow blooms which the bees love.  But, it had some sort of disease, I think; it never recovered from the heavy pruning we gave it; it can be invasive; and it was starting to crowd the dogwood as well as shade the clothesline. 
Out with the old.