The old tree in our yard out front was rotten. It had a big vertical notch in the base of the trunk that a full grown adult could stand in. Actually, two people could fit. We even had our neighbor have a couple of her senior pictures done with it as a background prop. It was a beautiful tree up to this year. Now half the canopy was barren of leaves. No nutrients were getting to them, and that was the end of this tree. We called a company that does tree removal in Nassau County to come take it down.
They cut it from the top down using a bucket truck and even climbing gear and ropes. I could hear the sections of big limbs hit the ground with a thud. The tree company leveled every divot from falling branches and planted grass where the stump used to be. They had the tree down fast. They cut a couple of slices from a big branch and the trunk. They told us we could save them and turn them into clocks or a tabletop. We decided to make three clocks. One big one and two little ones. The big one is hanging on our back porch. It looks nice in its thick polyurethane coating.
It is odd having the tree gone. However, I am glad we had it taken out before it feel down. There was not much holding it up. They tree cutters said it was amazing that it was still standing, especially since we had the major windstorm just a few weeks ago. We still have a lot of pictures and video of the hollowed out trunk that has been a place where imaginations of children of our neighbors have grown over the years. It is interesting how attached you can become to a tree.