We have now passed the first winter with this once stately Maple tree being on the ground. Other than it having settled a bit into the wet soil, the appearance has changed little. Nature works continuously but very slowly. It no longer has any resistance to moisture — whether it be from the sky or the ground. You can be sure that the cellulose is breaking down due to various fungi, bacteria as well as insect and bird activity. In a few years it will have returned to the earth.