Log Planters from Dead Tree–wherein Mike gets whacked in the head.

One of our big pines lost its top on June 12, 2011.

2009 06 12 071ed for blog post

It was either snapped off by wind or hit by lightning.  Whatever caused it, it left a mess on the ground to clean up.

The next year, 2012, was the dry year where, to conserve water, water system customers were told not to do any outside watering.  We lost several trees from the drought. The big pine, already stressed from the damage in 2001, probably succumbed due to the drought conditions.  From its rings, the tree was well over 60 years old.

After the old pine was cut down, portions of the trunk were used to create several log planters.

2014-05-11 001ed

I created a short video of felling the tree.  I used a bit of a different technique this time and the tree fell very close to where I planned, even if I did get a whack on the head.

It looks like we may be in for some heavy rain over the next couple of days.  The ground is still saturated from the rain from the 9th.  We’re in a flash flood watch.

rain gage

Is your recent weather, compared to normal, drier, wetter, or just right?

arizona, around home, forests, humor, landscape, photography

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  • Rummuser May 12, 2014 Link

    Warmer than normal. Met predicts lower than normal rainfall for the coming monsoon. We are in for some serious water shortages if that happens.

    I hope that the whack in the head did not addle the contents! 🙂
    Rummuser recently posted…Spam.My Profile

  • Mike May 12, 2014 Link

    No, not really. It wasn’t really much of a whack — just surprised me is all.

  • Cheerful Monk May 13, 2014 Link

    I’m glad it wasn’t serious. Andy chewed up a finger with a chain saw once. It healed just fine, but it took a while. It was just instinct to try to support the saw with his other hand when the blade started falling after it had cut through the branch. Instincts aren’t always right!
    Cheerful Monk recently posted…WindMy Profile

    • Mike May 13, 2014 Link

      Ouch!

      I’ve had two chainsaw injuries. Once was when I cut through my shoe into my big toe that was too close to the deed wood I was cutting through. We were 25 miles from town getting firewood from downed trees in the national forest in Idaho. That required stitches. The other was just a few weeks ago when I was a little careless and the chain snagged the skin of my left index finger. I felt the pull more than the pain. I’ve been very conscientious about wearing gloves recently. It’s healed with very little scarring already. I can still see the scar easily from the Idaho chain saw mishap and that was 38 years ago.

  • nick May 13, 2014 Link

    In Northern Ireland it’s rained virtually every day of 2014. Fortunately not too much flooding and of course the reservoirs are nice and full. Usually by this time I’ve had a couple of good walks down in the Mourne Mountains 30 miles away, but this year the weather’s been so dreary that pleasure is still to come.

    • Mike May 13, 2014 Link

      I’ve never lived anywhere where it rains for long periods, though we’ve had times here where it gets a bit old, but only for a week or two. There are local flood warnings on some of the smaller streams in the state, with a couple more days of rain before this system moves out.

  • Hilary May 15, 2014 Link

    Hi Mike – glad you didn’t get topped .. not a nice way to go.

    Tornadoes .. well glad they went away from you – but they do cause such damage. Nature is terrifying always has been always will be …

    Here we have over the centuries always had floods, storms, droughts etc … I’m sure there is change going on, but it’s normal and we can measure it now … the earth is in a change of flux, that it would have been in without us … we just don’t help our environs by altering it ..

    I’ve seen some interesting times in my life, and in South Africa .. life is life it seems to me .. and if I’m wrong I’ll be long gone! Cheers Hilary
    Hilary recently posted…Moo Man – the film … I’Da Loves to be Besides the Seaside …My Profile

    • Mike May 15, 2014 Link

      Thanks, Hilary!

      Yes, the weather is… changing and interesting. After the recent heavy rains, we now have temperature records being set here in Arkansas — record lows! It’s 41°F right now and may drop into the 30s. Quite strange for May in the American South!
      Mike recently posted…Sunday’s Storms.My Profile

  • Grannymar May 23, 2014 Link

    I concur with Nick, I live about fifteen miles north of him in a rainy pocket and the heavy leaden skies only lift a couple of days a month to tease us. This week alone, We had rain on Mon, Tue, half of Thursday. So far today we have blue skies, but rain is promised and to last until next Tuesday!
    Grannymar recently posted…The End is never the End ~ Part 7My Profile

    • Mike May 23, 2014 Link

      Wet and rainy gets tiresome for us in a very short period. After just a week of a rain and clouds, we’re complaining about it.
      Our cool spell has ended, for now, and now we are headed into the muggy days of summer, a few weeks later than normal.
      Mike recently posted…Ben Long EarMy Profile

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