All gone

Well....today the tree was taken down. It took four men. Three to cut the pieces and haul it out to the chipper and one to scale the tree.

The climber went up the tree taking down all the limbs along the way. When that was done he went as high as he could safely go and started taking the trunk down in sections.

As each section came down you could see where it was split throughout the trunk. The cracks went the entire length of the tree. As they would cut these sections into smaller pieces the cracks just made the trunk fall apart.

Well things certainly look different out in the yard.

Even though we have many pine....it's remarkable what a difference it makes to loose one.

Lightening Saga Continues....

Well....our questions have now been answered as to whether or not the tree will survive. The top half of the tree is now on the ground....actually, half on the ground and half in the pool.

Thankfully nobody was out in the backyard when the tree decided to give up. I simply heard a huge crack and ran out to see what happened.

I can now tell you what the surface of water looks like when pine tar hits it. Looks kinda like an oil slick.

Because of the pine...I had to start clearing enough to get the branches out of the pool. I spent a fair amout of time with a saw today....new tool for me!!

I've at least gotten it cleared out of the pool and now have several calls into tree removal companies to get some feedback on taking the rest down. There are still several huge branches now hanging by a thread just waiting for a breeze.

It's pretty sad to see it go. Oddly, I was just speaking with my homeowners insurence company today to see what they would cover...if anything. They said "Oh no...you would have to pay for this....unless of course it falls and hits the house....then we'll pay for it".

You just can't win, can ya!