Trying to save the elm tree (July 2021)

I know this looks like an elm crew cut but the plan is to lessen the load at the top of the tree.  The elm has been dropping perfectly leafy limbs on sunny, windless days.  A sure sign that the tree doesn't have the power to pull water to its topmost limbs.  We're guessing the elms have been here since the house was built in 1948.

The seep at the base of the trunk is a sign that the tree cannot lift water to its topmost limbs.  Kind of like when you quit pulling liquid up in a straw and the drink drops back into the glass.