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I'm torn between having a 50+ year old oak chopped down or risking another year of it in the rain and wind..

Tough choice to make, Larry. Is there any way to cut branches to make it less vulnerable, so you can keep it? If it goes down in rain and wind, would there be collateral damage, such as your house or car being crushed?

Oak trees are pretty impressive.

Sadly, it is a split trunk. Two huge trunks growing out of one. Wood boring beetles have weakened it and when it does fall it will cover the house and a good portion of the neighbors property. It's over 70 feet tall and a 50 foot dripline. There are nine squirrel nests and several more bird. Plus we have a raccoon that loves to climb it at night. So many things to consider.

A massive old Acacia Abyssinia tree grew in the garden, on the edge of a sirikwa hole (large holes made by the homesteads of the Sirikwa, an ethnic group that disappeared around the 18th century). The stories that tree could have told... Weddings, memorial services, christenings, lunch parties, and of course, the day to day activities of many children... so much had happened under that tree. Over the years, the huge branches became home to countless birds, the hammerkops had a permanent home, looking like it was built by a drunk, their droppings killing any grass that tried to grow underneath. The hornbills, parrots and love birds all had their holes, as did a colony of bees that worked themselves into a frenzy when the tree was flowering. Orchids, mosses and ferns also called the tree home. Genet cats hid in it by day and leopards visited it by night, marking their territory and leaving scars with their claws. A troop of colobus monkeys, along with the badly behaved vervets, would regularly stop by to feast on seed pods and insects.
The branches spread a good 20m out from the trunk on all sides and it could be seen from several kilometres away, lording over its surroundings. Over time, the weight of the branches had caused the trunk to start splitting, a couple of branches had had to be cut off and lighting struck it once. At some point, someone braced the trunk with three 4" wide metal bands, bolted together, like necklaces, and several of the branches supported by posts and a metal cable. As the tree came to the end of its life, there was great debate on what to do about it. Nobody wanted to cut it but, like you, there was the danger and damage it would cause, should it come down by itself. The Sirikwa hole had always acted as a bit of a catchment area during the rains, washing down all the animal and bird droppings and providing a constant source of nutrients and water for the tree to thrive on.
After a couple of drought years the tree was struggling, then the rain started, flooding the parched earth, causing many trees already weak roots to fail and for them topple as a result. The Sirikwa hole turned into a small wetland that was a wonderful playground for children, dogs and the many frogs that performed raucously every night. Alas, it was too much water for the old tree and the soil was too waterlogged, and he too, toppled over, into the hole and still lies there, his branches still home to many and a whole new playground for the two and four legged creatures that still delight in the old, dead trees continued role in the circle of life.


Dear me... what started as a sentence to commiserate about losing a wonderful old tree has turned into a short story!

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I have tried. Even if I'm being calm, one thing or another will cause me to be noticed, drop my keys or sneeze or something.

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Have you ever considered going "for an errand" and just dissappearing?