Oops!

We recently noticed that this large oak was dying. Then it became obvious that the larger pine was dying too. (The green below and beside are parts of other trees.)

Here is the problem: see the spiral where the bark is missing off the pine?  Lightning struck the pine and then it arced to the oak, killing them both.

One morning when I walked, there were dozens of little birds in the dead oak. Maybe roasted acorns are tasty. A couple of other times, we have heard a distinct chewing sound in that same tree, without being able to find the source. We were thinking an animal smaller than a squirrel.

 

Their next door neighbor decided to take down two big trees for whatever reason. Unfortunately, the tree feller fellar made a slight miscalculation, taking out at least 30 feet of fence.

I think if I was having a run of luck like that, I’d be out there watching that fire, even though it was mostly smoke.