if a tree falls in our woods, and I don't hear it, am I deaf?

              
How In The World did I NOT hear a BIG gray pine fall on our property? And I know it happened while I was here, 'cause there is snow on top of the now horizontal trunk. I'd not left the property for 2 days. I went out yesterday a.m. and took photos of the bright, early snow.

How did I miss it?

My first view of, hmm, that's not normal (the deer is, all the limbs, etc. behind same, is not). (Incidentally, the tree to the right is where years ago I first saw boards in same, and though, hm, I don't remember putting boards in the tree... that's a story, The Shred, for another time.)

View from "top" of tree.

Roots up.

Trunk split from crash impact (I presume). Notice typical gray pine with 5 different big branches/trunks. So NOT the classic pine triangle shape. Perhaps sign that they're not adapted to shedding lots of snow...

Root trench. Not sure I've seen this before. This is apparently where a root was torn from the ground during the fall.

Gray pine's close neighbor, thanking it's stars it's still up.

While taking shot, noticed it has about 5 wildlife holes in it (left and right).

What's that in the Ceonothus? That clumpy thing?

Shrapnel. Clump of fresh grass/soil flung in air during tree fall, landing in Ceonothus.


ANYhow, a big resident of our property had it's last day. I always feel a little sad when big trees fall.

However, it's all part of the process. Now, a day later, the birds are very much enjoying this shaggy beast on the ground, hopping all over it, looking for goodies, and loving the cover.

the biobabbler