Follow the Bouncing Tree

This is the sad tale of the bouncing tree. About two weeks ago, I was working in the loft; my husband was working in our basement office. We both heard a loud thunk. Really loud. Really close. We thought something had fallen next door, so Terry went for a walkabout around two houses. He didn't see anything. Nothing on the road. Nothing in the driveways. Nothing new lying on the ground.

"Must have come from across the cove," he said.

A week later I came home from coffee with a friend. I noticed what looked like fresh wood on a tree about 20' up from the water. I started down for a closer look. I'd taken no more than a dozen steps when I realized I needed my camera. The top of a 60' tall tree was missing.

You can see the stumpy top. It's right there in the middle of the pic. A few weeks earlier, this was a proud tree with plenty of leaves. Who knew it was getting ready to jump.

And jump it did. The top took one gigantic bounce. Right on top of the aluminium canoe. Which is no more. My first clue that we had a slightly bigger problem than missing the top of the tree.

Terry and I walked around the mess. The canoe is definitely a goner. Nothing is going to fix it, so to the dump it goes when we feel like loading it on the boat and taking it to the boat ramp. No way am I going to drag the sucker up the hill. Nope. Not going to do it.

So we wondered what happened to the top of the bouncing tree. Seems it launched itself off the canoe, went airborne and ended upright through a corner of the deck at the water's edge. About four boards have to be replaced. Did I say it landed upright? Sorta. It's leaning against the roof

of the boat lift. No damage except a bit of rubble on the roof. I'm really happy the boat lift protected the boat. It could have been much worse, but all we have to do is call the tree removal dude (who has become our neighborhood's best friend) and have him remove the bounced part and the 30' or so that is still standing.

A really careful look at the debris field around the canoe told us the tree had been lying all along about its health. Two very large oval holes where some of our resident Woody Woodpeckers nested were waaay above eyeline. I guess being ecologically friendly has its price. This time was a canoe. Well worth it to provide nesting places for birds.

What did you discover over the holidays?