I realize you can't tell much from the photo, but this is part of an old dead tree that fell in a recent windstorm at our place. I was fortunate that it missed the fence which borders between our place and the neighbor. If it had landed on it, I would have been scrambling awhile back to clear it and re-build the fence to keep their cows out of our hay meadow.
The tree fell because it was rotten -- the core of it was hollow. It is/was a huge oak tree that had stood for many years. I couldn't count the rings very easily and didn't really try, but I would guess it to be somewhere in excess of 80 years old. The photo really doesn't do it justice, it was massive.
When I took the photo I had already removed most of the smaller branches. The cut ends of what you see here are probably 8-10 inches in diameter. It truly was quite a chore.
As I cleared the smaller limbs away I was vigilant for critters which might be hiding in the tall grass and wood debris. Sure enough, a cottonmouth made his appearance and moved from one spot to the next as I cleared away the limbs. I was careful as I picked up branches and of where I stepped because I knew there could be others lurking among the litter. I also frequently lost sight of the one who made himself known.
I suppose there are a couple of lessons within this brief description. 1) Even the mighty will fall when the rot/decay inside them is so great that it saps their resistance. 2) There are serpents lurking within the debris, every ready to inject their poison into us as we go about our task.
Yeah, it turned into a political post....
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