Horizontal tree

There are quite a few things that cause people to stop in their tracks and stare at our house as they're walking down the street. (Really, they do. I've watched them.) It could just be the size and ugliness and disrepair of the outside of the house. Or it could be the ridiculous number of toys that often litter our front yard. (We currently have three big wheels and one Plasma car that are in use.) Or sometimes it is the number of children playing in the yard... there is a little person for each ride on toy and they are used a lot. But I've also seen people stop and comment (or ask to take picture) on the tree we have growing in our front yard. It used to be a regular looking tree that had a slight horizontal tilt to it. In general it's growth could have been considered vertical. Not so much anymore. It is a completely horizontal-growing tree. See what I mean...

In the past year it has been sinking lower and lower as the tree grows and the weight on the end increases. It used to high enough off the ground that we could drive the van underneath it. There also used to be a swing on it which was far enough off the ground that even big people didn't scrape their feet on the ground. And just a few months ago, I could walk under it only ducking a little bit. (This is also the tree that had the bee swarm in it a couple of years ago. It would be easier to get to these days.) No longer.

And now we know why we have seen such a large amount of movement. There are cracks in the trunk. Big cracks where you can see inside the tree. I'm afraid that our tree is not going to be with us much longer. It is making everyone a little bit sad.

We have been having some amazing thunderstorms around here this summer, usually with some pretty strong wind. My guess is that one more good wind storm and the poor old tree won't be able to support itself. I've been parking the van as far out in the driveway as I can so the tree doesn't fall on it when it does come down.

I hope I won't be posting pictures of the tree that is now laying on the ground anytime soon, but it's not looking too promising. Poor tree.