When we built our house, we purchased our lot primarily on the basis of an enormous hickory tree growing near the street. It may have been the largest tree in our heavily treed neighborhood. It was at least 50 feet high. For 30 years it graced our front yard, but one night a huge lower limb came crashing down. The limb itself was easily the size of a full grown tree, and it blocked a lane of our street. Sadly, the falling limb ripped out nearly half of the trunk of the remaining tree, so the rest of our beautiful hickory tree had to be taken down. It was a sickening sight to watch the arborist's crew dismantle this once magnificent tree. I felt like I was having a beloved pet put down. Here are some photos that give you some perspective of what I've described. The last photo shows how much of the remaining tree towers over the broken limb.
