A Near Miss

Last night at about 11:00 PM I was answering an email from Terry when I heard a loud "thump" outside the house. Sherry was working on her computer in the same room.

R: "What was that?"

S: "Sounded like a limb falling off a tree."

I went back to the bedroom to get a flashlight, but that turned out to be unnecessary. A largish limb had fallen just outside the French doors that open to the outside. It was clearly visible under the porch light.

(Click on the picture for a detailed view.)

The tree is a bit to the left of the picture. I was puzzled by the fact that the severed end of the limb was against the house, away from the tree. It had barely brushed the house, and crumpled the little white metal table to its right.



I shined the flashlight up into the tree to try to see where it broke off. The broken stump was near the tree's trunk fairly high up. Perhaps 25 or 30 feet. Evidently the limb broke there near the trunk and hinged down, hanging from the point where it broke, with the ends of the branches at ground level. Then it broke loose, and the main branch pivoted over and slammed onto the patio, just brushing the house.


The limb looks perfectly healthy, with lots of green leaves and no sign of rot. I don't understand why it broke. We had had a heavy rain earlier in the evening, but no significant wind. It could be that the limb broke during the rain, but continued to hang, then broke free several hours later under the weight of the wet leaves.


I love that tree. It is nearly four feet in diameter at the trunk, and provides very nice shade for the house and back yard. We had it inspected by an arborist a couple of years ago and professionally trimmed. It was supposed to be safe. But if this limb can break off as it did, I wonder if I can trust any of them.