Not Rising From The Ashes

I planted this ex-christmas tree about 30 years ago when we lived slightly further up the street.  I pruned the self-seeded Ash trees regularly as they grew up alongside my tree, and then overtook it.  The tree hasn't grown much higher in recent years, partly from a poor substrate and partly from being overshadowed.

When I look at this fir tree I am saddened by its shaved appearance. This happened when many of the trees were trimmed to keep the highway clear, but they should have left the fir! I was told they had to prune everything up to 16 ft.  It looks a bit daft to me.

The photo has many features to highlight, not least the beautiful blue sky.  The Ash are suffering with die-back, but you can't see that without their leaves. The cobblestones are part of the front street, which is not common anymore. And there is a splash of yellow on the ground to the left of the tree, which is highlighted in BrambleBlossom's blip.