About 30 years ago a prior owner of the Bluecircle land clear-cut several maples without removing the stumps. In Europe the sprouts that grow from such stumps have been harvested as second-growth timber, a forestry practice known as “coppicing”. In this case the forestry practice was neglect, leading to a number of large, misshapen and eventually dangerous trees. The outer limbs of this example lean(ed) far beyond the usual canopy of a maple and remained healthy. Each year they have extended further and further from the trunk.

Until last week, when the limb on the left split away. No one was around, but I think it made noise.

The fallen limb reached 75 feet from the trunk.

In its path were several young oaks and tulip poplars.

Once the fallen limb was partly cleared the bent, but unbroken oaks can be seen in the sunlight beyond the limb. The more brittle poplars did not survive.

Lines and a boom pole attached to the tractor bucket were used to slowly straighten the oaks. The crashing limb had stripped bark from one of the larger oaks.

Hopefully the rescued neighbors of this ill-fated maple will be strong enough to weather winter’s storms. In the meantime their guy wires add unusual variety to this part of the woods.