Owl ent tree

I have started to cut down parts of my "ent" tree.  I call it that because to me it looks like it could be alive like the mystical trees in the Lord of the Rings books and movies.  Doesn't the lower branches on the left look like arms and the upper part of the tree as the body and head?  To me the tree looks like it could start walking as any minute.

This tree is also favored by one of the owls.  The upper part of the tree is dead and one of the owls would sit up there screeching and watching for mice on many nights this past summer.  That is part of the reason I didn't cut  the tree back before now.

The other reason is I waited for the sap to go down for the winter to make it easier to cut.   While the upper part is mainly dead the left branch is still in the process of dying.

If the photo seems odd to you it is because I took it at night and left the camera shutter open longer.  The shadows are from the moonlight as the moon was near full.

Anyway, the tree is dying from the top.  Flickers have carved out several holes in the main trunk and I think that is weakening the tree.  These birds have nested in this tree for a number of years now but this past year they have carved out several new large holes.

The tree is much taller than it appears from the photo.  Look at the fence which is about four feet high then look at the total height of the tree.  My extension ladder extended doesn't quite reach the lower left branch.

It will be a challenge to cut the tree back.  I plan to cut it on the main trunk just below where the left branch come out.  All that upper part is actually on the other side of the fence.  But it is close enough I was concerned the cut branches and trunk would fall back onto my fence breaking it.  Especially if the left branch hit the ground first causing the rest of the tree to fall back on the fence.

Therefore I first cut much of the left branch off.  Enough of the branch remains to cause the rest of the tree to fall over and away from the fence (I hope).

I stood on a step ladder and using an extended pole saw cut the branch.  I had to take care not to be under the branch and to be as far away as I could from where the branch fell as I was concerned it would fall against the ladder.

The tree is a box elder tree.  Branches stay intact until they come off.  There is no bending or leaning or sign that the branch is about to come down.  It is either on or off.  It can happen fast - and it did.   I got off the ladder quickly and mainly jumped from the upper steps backwards to the ground. The branch just missed the ladder, but after hitting the ground fell towards the tree and fence with part of the branch landing on the fence breaking the top board.  Oh well... better the fence than me.

Here is how the tree looks now: