Timberrrrrr

One of the laurel oaks next to the kennel died this spring. It was a huge tree and had been doing well but in spring there was no new foliage and eventually all the leaves dropped. I'm not sure what killed it. There are a number of fungi that kill oak trees and there are borers that do considerable damage. I know that it was an old tree so perhaps it was susceptible to a disease of some kind. It appears that the heart wood was rotten.

Anyway, the oak had to be taken down because branches were starting to fall in the kennel area and nearby paddock. The tree had become a hazard and in every wind storm, another branch would fall. I was getting anxious that a large one would fall on the kennels or on my head as I went back and forth to the kennels. So yesterday Van's Tree Service came with several trucks and what was once a wonderful tree was reduced to a pile of logs. I examined the base and the rot had gone completely through the entire heart wood.

I really miss that tree. There are hundreds more oak trees at Surry but I always mourn the loss of trees. The stump remains and looks like a table. I'll put some potted flowers on it to brighten the place where the oak tree lived.