Timberrrrrr! (And the Water Oak Came Down)

It was a little more than a month ago that we talked about yet another water oak tree that has died in the little grove in the pasture.  We've had several that have succumbed to the red oak borer, but this was the biggest yet.  It was an old tree and was the tree that the kids had a zip line in and a tree house.  This tree had a lot of memories.  Every time that neighbors' kids or our kids' friends came over, they'd ride on the zip line all the way down to the goat barn with the American flag on the side.

This spring it budded green leaves in anticipation of yet another year of growth, but the damage to the tree was just too much to overcome.  Sometime in June we noticed part of the tree had turned yellow.  Then in July all of the other leaves died.  In August limbs began falling and then the bark started shedding.  We knew that we had to act fast. 

I called an old classmate's brother who has a tree cutting business on the side and he came and looked at it as there was no way that we were going to cut this one down on our own.  He charged a very reasonable rate and came out within a week and cut it down.  He told me these water oaks have a lifespan of about 70 years.  He was unsure if the borer beetle did the damage or if a disease called wilt set in and killed it.

Fortunately he had the equipment (large chain saws, crane and bucket truck) to fell the tree.  It was a big tree.  I placed my Croc leaning against the tree to give perspective. 

We now have quite a large stump to get rid of.  A co-worker of mine was showing me some home remedies of removing stumps and one with a drill, vegetable oil, and charcoal caught my eye.  I just may try it.

Part of the tree on the ground contained the cable from the zip line.  You can see how the tree grew around it in the last 17 years.  Time flies!  It was a reminder of how quickly things change.

We have quite a pile of firewood that we'll need to cut up and split, but we'll wait for some cooler weather for that!

Russ got up early on Saturday, however, and had a huge fire blazing when I walked out to milk Rosie.  He was burning all the tree tops.

The cows really appreciated the fire.  As hot as it was, the smoke from the fire, kept the mosquitoes and flies away, at least momentarily.  The old tree that made so many memories is no longer standing, but I have a plan for a new tree to put in its place.  I'll have to tell you about that later.