We’ve been experiencing a great howling windstorm since yesterday — it seems to be a common event every spring around here that we get a storm or two just to teach the trees that this is supposed to be prairie. Our excitement for the day is that this huge old willow in our yard lost another limb, something like what happened two years ago. At that time, a major limb smacked down on the south side of the tree; this year, an even larger branch smashed down to the north. That monster is significantly bigger around than I am.
Here’s Skatje sitting in the wreckage. She was very enthusiastic about getting out there and sawing at some of the lesser branches so we could swing the debris out of the road and the sidewalk. We’re going to have to get a professional tree service to take care of the rest.
We’ve been lucky so far — the deadfalls have paralleled the house, and no one has been under them. Looking at what’s left of the tree, the next big branch to go is either going to fall to the east and take out our car, or to the west and take out the neighbor’s garage. Old Man Willow is out to get us, we may have to terminate him first.
Same thing happened to me a few days ago. But that’s a pretty damn huge limb.
ITZALLBECAUSEOFGLOBALWARMING
Oh yeah, and one of these crushed my neighbour’s roof once.
You might as well have the tree service take it down. It’s only like somewhere between 1500 and oh about a zillion dollars depending on whether you want them to remove the stump and the sawdust and whatnot.
If God exists, his aim is mighty poor.
Clearly, quork, these are just warning shots across PZ’s bow. Because God is all about love and all that, remember? God really, really wants to save PZ from, er… that whole eternal damnation business that was his idea in the first place.
Clearly Old Man Willow was a magnificent specimen in his day. But 386sx may be right, it may be the old fella’s time to go. Or, a skillful removal of the most dangerous limbs would leave a handsome living sculpture in your yard.
After having 3 trees removed from my property in urban minneapolis for various storm related damage and dutch elm disease – I have observed that every tree costs 3k to remove. Doesn’t matter how big, what type, or how many quotes – its always 3k. Oh – it helps if you pay cash – they ‘forget’ about the local taxes.
there was a time in which one could just call the family – someone would bring the tractor, someone else the chains, and someone else the chain saw – the tree would be gone within a few hours for the cost of the beer and a few burgers.
Or, a skillful removal of the most dangerous limbs would leave a handsome living sculpture in your yard.
They’re all dangerous. No foolin.
If I read those pix correctly, that is one massive stump. 386sx is right, just get the whole thing done now before it kills someone or destroys something. There’s no way to tell which limbs are rotting from the inside and may go down without warning. Since limbs are already coming down, it’s only a matter of time.
We had one that took out the kids’ slide (luckily no kids on it at the time) from a minor gust, because it had become hollowed out at a critical point.
If I read those pix correctly, that is one massive stump. 386sx is right, just get the whole thing done now before it kills someone or destroys something. There’s no way to tell which limbs are rotting from the inside and may go down without warning. Since limbs are already coming down, it’s only a matter of time.
Not only that, but the roots are everywhere getting into who knows what drain pipes and sewer pipes or whatever.
This is why I’m incredibly happy not to have a single tree on my property. I grew up in the country, and it seemed like nothing but moving sticks from here to there, mowing around logs, and watching trees fall over in storms. Everyone’s like– “Dave, put a tree in, or some bushes, or flowers!” Personally, I’m thinking Zen sand garden…
I’m morally opposed to the destruction of trees older than this town. It has more right to be here than us.
Dirty tree-murderer.
That would be the herbicidal maniac, right?
Strange how when people murder people, it’s the act of homicide, fratricide, patricide, etc. and otherwise fungicide, herbicide, and pesticide are only the specialised poison in use.
Yup. My mom said almost exactly the same thing a few years ago as we watched the neighbors take down not one, but two ancient oaks on their lot across the street from us. I think that leaves one ancient oak on our end of the street, and it happens to be in our back yard.
I don’t think the trees were older than the town (which was settled almost 400 years ago) but I’m pretty sure they’re older than anything in the neighborhood that’s man-made.
However… It is true, as others have already noted, that a dying tree of that size has significant potential to destroy, injure, and kill as it falls apart. That seems to be the case with Old Willow. Our grand old oaks were simply casting too much shade, I think. Sigh.
In North America Chickasaw, and Montagnai Indians used willow to relieve fevers, aches, and pains as its bark is the original source of salicin (aspirin). But this can now be easily made by reacting phenol and carbon dioxide. So although old man willow won’t feel a thing it is still sad. so save some bark and Weep not.
Good thing it didn’t hit anything of major value.
Then the insurance company would’ve declared an ‘act of god’.
Wouldn’t that’ve been a pisser, ey? ;)
Ah, but should trees have standing?
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Back when I was living in the second floor of a little house in Poughkeepsie, I had the . . . exciting experience of looking out the kitchen window at the storm only to see the great bloody big backyard tree coming straight towards me. I think my stomach passed my testes, going in opposite directions . . .
Luckily, it ended up falling just enough to the side to land on the part of the house that was only one story (and unoccupied) – doing a major number on the roof and such, but without exacting a brutal revenge for people’s countless acts of wanton arborcide. It was quite impressive – the whole house jumped, more or less, from the impact.
You mean you don’t have your own chainsaw? Wuss! ;-P
Praise God no one was hurt and no one was damaged! =D
PZ, you’ve done it now: you’ve put a picture of your house up on the tubes. The crazies can now find your home. Eggs and toilet paper will become scarce commodities at the grocery store as they stock up for a late-nighter.
Dirty tree-murderer.
Given the way the tree is going, dismembered by one storm after another, and its apparent condition, I would argue that we’re only talking about tree euthenasia, not tree murder in this case.
Willows make poor yard trees, since they have evolved to grow fast and break apart easily so their pieces can float down the river and continue growing somewhere else. IF you want to keep the tree alive, cut a few branches and stick them in the ground; some of them will start to grow.
Joshua, I think you mean that was a “warning shot across PZ’s bough” ;-)
This tree clearly holds a grudge! Y’all haven’t, by any chance, hit it with a flying car recently, have you?
Ask anyone who has lived through a hurricane. Trees are the enemy! Sure, those suckers are lovely to look at, absorb carbon dioxide, create shade, produce food and shelter for cute little animals. But, poised above your head is the Limb of Damocles!
Paying someone to take the tree down is the best route. Those people work hard, know their jobs, and are strong enough to move the parts. Make sure they have insurance, though. Otherwise, you may be liable for their injuries. Tree, spare that woodsman!
If you have the tree cut down, consider inoculating the stump with edible mushrooms. Fungiperfecti.com has some good stuff.
If you take it down you should get somebody with a sawmill to look at it. You might get some nice planks out of it. Also, I should think that even with the trunk gone, the roots would still send up suckers- so the tree could have a whole second life.
Glad it missed everything.
Someone on a main throughfare here in KC turned a dead/hardened tall tree stump into a tower complete with bricks, windows and a weather vane. (lopped off all the branches, shaved the bark off, sculpted, etc. all at about 16 feet up).
Looks like your willow is not that tall. And I’m completely happy with the neighbor cutting down the clump of lanky sycamores, one of which leaned toward our porch…
Here is my story of the saga of the old oak tree which would have come down in a storm if it had not been removed
Sorry try again saga of the old oak tree
Professional tree service? Just borrow or rent a chainsaw! What kind of a Minnesotan are you?
-jcr
Blimey! That’s a shedload of cricket bats… get whittlin’, fella.
Chainsaw? Chainsaw?
Wouldn’t a couple of sticks of dynamite be more ‘cultural’?
Chainsaw? Chainsaw?
Wouldn’t a couple of sticks of dynamite be more ‘cultural’?
That’s southerners you’re thinking of.