Dani... That is almost what we have done. Real Estate prices are going up (as the Ca folks sell their McMansions and move to Medford). Our summers are perfect and we love sitting on our patio every day as a pleasant breeze cools down any high temps. Rainy season just keeps going on, and the valley here with the lovely snow capped mountains (closer than in the central valley) brings cold temps that I just don't remember even up in the foothills. (well, I'm older, too). We travel with a RV (Winnebago) club, even meeting up in Arizona during the winter. We have noticed that RV parks are charging more these days, and we see lots of mega (size &$$$) RV's on the road..... but it is a lifestyle we like and being 80+ now, we realize our travel days are numbered.

'Scorch' (leaf burn) has seldom killed any tree and olives are particularly well suited to CA's drought, so I'd have issues with the diagnosis you have received. Pruning, even heavy pruning (and olives are routinely pruned hard), would not make the tree any less drought tolerant nor would it necessarily encourage leaf scorch. I'd be inclined to have the tree evaluated by a certified arborist that knows his stuff or take clear photos and samples to your local extension service office for an accurate diagnosis before leaping to any other conclusions. If the tree is in fact dying, replanting with another olive in the same location is dependent on what the tree is dying from.....some pathogens remain present and active in the soil indefinitely (like armillaria or verticillium wilt, to both of which olives are susceptible) and replanting in the exact location with the same or another susceptible species is not advised. The description of the symptoms could indicate that one or the other of these may be at cause but that would need to be confirmed by a plant pathologist or someone else skilled in these matters. Bottom line is you must get the problem correctly identified before you can make any replanting decisions.

OK...so yes, some decay has set in at each of these former branch sites. There is callus formation-that roll of tissue you see around the perimeter, and that's a good sign. The tree is spending some of its energy trying to wall off these wounds, and is doing a reasonable job of it. But..........here's the famous but.........this is a cherry. I don't know anything about Sakura, except to say it sounds vaguely Japanese, but in any case, all cherries are relatively short-lived trees. So, where are we now? Call and arborist? Nah, we just told you everything there is to know about this, at least in terms of actionable things. So what about action? There's nothing you or anyone else can or should do. It being a cherry, I don't picture this thing towering over your home, so that threat is out. I guess I would just say enjoy it while you can and realize it could break apart as Ken said, or just continue to gradually decline. Resist anything anyone tells you about how it "needs" this fertilizer.....or that a deep aeration of the lawn will aid its recovery. That's all nonsense. Finally, I would not position my children underneath the tree during high winds. Other than that, like I said, enjoy it and start the thought process about what you might want to do when this tree goes bye bye.

I knew nothing about this candidate before today, when I listened to this interview on my drive home. He's a little too "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" jargon-y for me, and he's also pro-life (I am pro-choice). But he's one of the first pro-lifers I've heard state that we should be focusing on how to reduce unwanted pregnancies, not just ban abortions. In addition... he believes in climate change! His criticisms on Trump are right on target, esp. regarding Trump's claims about rigged elections. Trump has practically invited the Russians to hack at will. Interesting, too, the circumstances under which he could become president. Extremely unlikely, but stranger things have happened. Like Trump being on the Republican ticket. Anyway, thought I'd share this. Again, I hadn't heard of him before today, and my impression here is based only on this interview. It's a 45+-minute interview, so if you don't have time but want to learn more about him, just google. http://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2016/10/17/evan-mcmullin-election-2016-interview