This tree was damaged so badly over the years from ice storms, lightning and wind that I finally had it removed in 2014. I estimated its age at 100 years minimum. Its diameter was almost 50" across; and its original height about 60+ feet. It was covered with Boston Ivy and was a refuge for birds and squirrels. It became a liability with age (like me?): However, it served a useful purpose in nature. This is a picture of the final cut at the base.

Although I know they make a wedge cut on the side of the tree in the direction they want it to fall, that was not my first thought when I saw the saw going and saw the yellow truck sitting there. My first thought was "I hope they move that yellow truck before they take down that tree!
I can't imagine that you could ever be a liability at any age Leon. We can become a builder of character for those around us but not "liabilities"!!!!!

I had given them instructions to make sure it didn't fall on the garage or the road. So they tied the top off to the truck to coax it diagonally away from the off limits area. They sure made a mess of my drive, but you would never know it now. I paid for them to clean up everything, but I still had a lot of raking and fix-up to do. I love my trees, but sometimes they do have to be removed. Now I'm thinking about the one next to it: Hoping it will survive another ice-storm. This picture shows how this one fell in relation to the truck.

I'm glad everything went ok! We had an enormous birch tree taken down that had the top of it dying and it was hanging over the shop so it had to go. Wow do they make a mess when they come down! Cleanup is a BIG job!