What looks right & what feels right

I really like today's pic, although everything I'm reading about composition at the moment tells me this pic is wrong. According to the "rule of thirds" the tree should be over to the left or to the right. Also, I suppose more of the branches and less of the trunk would have been more appropriate. What I did was to shoot this shot the way the rulebooks say, and also this way, and I must admit, I think this way is better. Sometimes I feel it's better to go with your gut feel rather than what the pro's have written. I dunno, hmmm.