we lost a tree

Saturday, when it was so windy, we came home to find that one of our big, beautiful, healthy pine trees had blown over.

It's one of a grouping of evergreens out near the highway. 

It's hard to make out in the photo below...but you can see it fell just behind this other pine tree and the top is over the driveway.

We are fortunate that it didn't fall into the electric line, or the road. And it just grazed the other tree - no branches were broken on it.

I went out with my reciprocating saw and cut off the branches that were blocking the driveway.

 When we first saw the tree down, I was afraid someone had run off the road and hit it with their car.
That has happened before to trees out there.
But no, it had to be the wind. The tree wasn't hollow or rotten. It broke off below the ground even.
I put my foot in this photo for scale. It was a big tree!

Well, we can't dwell on it...but it was a much appreciated tree...for privacy and because it helped muffle the highway noise. 

So what now?  

We always call on the Sasquatch to help us out with the tough jobs.

He came over with his chain saw and got to work.

It was several hours of heavy dirty work. The pine sap is sticky and gums up the saw and gets all over clothes and skin.

My foot again to show the size of this tree.

The Sasquatch cut the branches into smaller sections...

Then loaded them on a trailer and took them to the back field where I will burn them. Not all at once, though!

He stacked up the larger limbs and the trunk sections out by the road and put up a sign for "free firewood" and someone picked them up the next day. 

 Job well done!

Now, instead of a beautiful green pine tree - I have a view of the telephone pole, the gas meter thingy, and the neighbor's sheds and garbage can.  Bummer.

I will feel better when I get something planted to replace it. Something fast growing!