In answer to the question regarding the stump, no, I never considered removing it. In fact, for me its presence adds meaning. The scene reminds me of a favorite book, "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein, and its message about the passage of time and giving and enduring love and connections (hence the title).
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I feel this is a lot better than your double exposure image as it looks more natural to me. BTW were the birds a separate exposure?
Thank you. I think it IS more natural than my double exposure :) And yes, though there were geese flying the day I took the main photo, I didn't catch them like this; I went out on a different day hoping to get some and eventually scored.