The warm weather of February got Michael out and about, when he noticed that the box elder next to the small garage had developed a bad split.

The split, which was only a couple of feet long at the beginning of February extended all the way down the trunk by the end of February.

March is notoriously windy, and we both figured that if we didn't take quick action, we would soon find that nature had taken the tree down for us...and the garage (and Irene's car) as well. The problem was how to fell the fell fellow without squishing the garage or ourselves. So Michael consulted Brother Johnny, who is quite savvy about taking down trees and not the surrounding buildings. He suggested a pulley. So Michael hopped on the computer and ordered us a likely looking piece of hardware.

One end of the rope was tied to a branch and the other to the hitch of our car. The pulley is attached to a tree headed away from the garage, but still accessible to the driveway.

Michael climbed a ladder and wielded the chain saw and I peered at him through my rear-view to figure out when I had to put the car in gear.

We managed to miss the garage and didn't kill Michael either.

Box elder tends to have colored heartwood. This one is red, but can be blue or yellow.

We will burn the wood year after next. We still have the remaining limb to take down, but relieved the pressure on the trunk that was creating the split. I wasn't much help in hauling branches and stacking wood, as I had sprained my left wrist on the last day of January. (I'm much better now.).

Sap ran freely from the cuts. It was slightly sweet and nutty tasting.  Box elder is related to maples, having winged seed pods. — Sap ran freely from the cuts. It was slightly sweet and nutty tasting. Box elder is related to maples, having winged seed pods.

We have had high winds the past few days (as in tornado warning weather) and what is left of the tree still stands. Success.