Wind and ivy

The main cause of damage to trees in this country is wind, though if course the wind only shows up where the weak points of any tree are.

Half of the crown of this oak tree near the cowshed was removed by the wind during stormy weather in August.  You can see the gap.  

 And a couple of branches came off a nearby ash tree and had to be tidied.

We're not sure why the oak failed but probably it was the heavy load of ivy that led to the branch failure on the ash.  You can see that the ivy was well established

The crown of the tree was getting overwhelmed and the wind resistance had been increased.

So although a little bit of ivy is good for wildlife - shelter and nectar and berries for birds, insects, spiders and small mammals - it was time for remedial action.

By severing and removing a section of the ivy stem, we can ensure that the ivy in the tree dies off.  You can see below how thick the ivy stem was.

  

The only problem now is that large chunks of ivy will eventually die and fall off.

SO DON'T WALK UNDER TREES IN WINDY WEATHER, ESPECIALLY IVY-CLAD TREES, AND ESPECIALLY THIS ONE !

 And today I discovered another broken oak (a broak?) up near post 3.