A couple of years ago, it started budding up in the spring, but never grew any leaves. The thin branches snapped easily to the touch and the entire tree was dead. What happened? We can only guess. It could have gotten hit by lightening. There was a big ant colony nearby that could have infested into it's roots. Maybe it picked up some sort of disease. Whatever the case, it was done. We weren't too excited about having to get it cut down. Fortunately, the clearance was a good distance from the house so it would not present too much danger. One day, we'll get someone over here to remove it. That was over two years ago.
This past spring, we heard a chopping noise in the back yard. What is that??? Come to find out, a pileated woodpecker decided to have breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dead tree trunk. There must have been a whole lot of eatings in that wood. He pecked a hole in it that was two feet wide by four feet tall and about a foot in. Now there was trouble in the makings. We covered the trunk with plastic and found someone to cut the tree down. It had officially become a hazard instead of an inconvenience. The last of the pieces of our beautiful tree were hauled away today. The back yard looks bare. It will take a while to get used to the way it looks back there. But the possibility of it falling on our house or shed is gone now.
It doesn't matter how wonderful something was in it's glory days, if it is dead, it needs to be dealt with. Bye-bye tree. It was nice knowing ya.
