The original photo (which I prefer) is pretty complex because it creates a lot of tension. The lines of the grass direct the eye from the bottom left toward the center. Then, the eye can either move from up and to the left along the tree, or back down and to the right, along the lines of the rocks. The slightly skewed horizon and telephone poles create further dissonance. You already have a somewhat low key effect here, so I suggest some additional local adjustments to accentuate the effect.
As far as cropping, I personally would leave the aspect ratio close to what it is, and crop a bit from the left- that church steeple (or whatever it is) adds context that takes away from the effect of the photo. Don't crop out too much grass! Nice job.
John