Tractor and Tree Cookies

After Hurricane Ian came through a tree clean-up crew left a few massive pieces of an ancient oak WAY TO CLOSE to the road near us in Old Miakka. Many people had close calls when semi trucks, vehicles with trailers etc., had to compensate for it and came into the other lane to do so. This massive debris was left near a blind curve adjacent to the entrance of Hidden River. Close calls happened to our people too so we decided to do something.

We went to move it with Ol Bess, our Old John Deere 5310. The piece on the road was WAY to heavy for Bessie so we had to cut several “cookies” and branches off of it to lift it. Luckily we have a chainsaw with a 36” bar. We decided to make something out of the cuts as well, why not keep this old tree in this little old historic town? After several cuts, where the hard wood of this centuries old oak digested chains with ease, we were able to move the big pieces safely out of the way. At best they would have totaled a vehicle, at worst someone could have been terribly hurt or killed.

Though professional tree services should NOT need to be told, it doesn’t hurt to ask them to place the debris a safe distance from the road, especially where there are blind spots and curves. It’s amazing to think that this beast of a tree was once a lucky little acorn that escaped detection by animals, strikes by lightening and hundreds of years of weather. But, it could not survive Hurricane Ian. We moved it to save vehicles and people, and to save some of its impressive size for repurposing. Not to mention, a pocket full of its acorns, so that the legend lives on. Myakka Strong.