I find that cutting down a tree is a life reaffirming experience for me, if not for the tree. Seems to be something men are genetically programmed for.

We live on a small patch of woods (17 acres) and after a drought 3 years ago and another last year, many large trees are dead and falling, they always it seems getting caught in the tops of other trees. These dead and leaning trees are known as snags.

I need to go out and deal with the snags ASAP. One in particular is very bad. Image if you will an oak tree, 16 inches diameter at the base, dead as a doorknob, about 75 feet high, broken but still hinged about 10 feet off the ground and leaning about 15 degrees off vertical caught in the crotch of an even bigger oak tree. Near enough to the house and garden that I can't just leave it for fear it will fall on me or my family, but at least far enough so it would not hit the house.

I think I'm going to try to get a rope on it above the break and try to pull it off the stump with a truck. EEK!