JCM 10,378 #1 Posted 23 hours ago (edited) I can honestly say after meandering the Maine woods for 50 years I have never come across a blowdown this big and it was right next to the trail system in the rear corner of the woodlot with a smaller one behind it. Estimating the size was 10' tall x 20' wide. The deer hunting season ended yesterday so it was safe to hit the trails to check things out. Removed the mower deck, changed the engine oil and cleaned /re oiled the foam air filter on the 418-A . Edited 23 hours ago by JCM 7 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JCM 10,378 #3 Posted 22 hours ago 5 minutes ago, ebinmaine said: WOW!! Exactly my thoughts as I was headed in the direction of it because I had no idea what I was looking at from a distance. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 75,163 #4 Posted 22 hours ago 2 minutes ago, JCM said: Exactly my thoughts as I was headed in the direction of it because I had no idea what I was looking at from a distance. Upturned root clusters have often fooled me into thinking it may have been an animal. Smaller ones look like bears. Bigger ones look like a side standing moose. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Handy Don 14,923 #5 Posted 21 hours ago 2 hours ago, JCM said: Definitely WOW. Noticed that the tree didn’t just get blown over, it got carried some distance from where it was torn from the ground. Amazing to me how shallow the root system was--hence the wide spread. Looks like it was growing on top of an impermeable layer of rock. 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 75,163 #6 Posted 13 hours ago Jim what kind what it? White pine or a hemlock? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ri702bill 10,398 #7 Posted 13 hours ago 8 hours ago, Handy Don said: how shallow the root system was Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JCM 10,378 #8 Posted 12 hours ago 24 minutes ago, ebinmaine said: Jim what kind what it? White pine or a hemlock? Hemlock 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebinmaine 75,163 #9 Posted 12 hours ago Super shallow roots as a standard then. Also usable for beams or firewood. 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 23,924 #10 Posted 10 hours ago You have till next Sept to get it cleared out Just kidding of course! 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JCM 10,378 #11 Posted 5 hours ago You always have the best responses. Not kidding. @Sparky 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blue Chips 308 #12 Posted 5 hours ago (edited) 16 hours ago, Handy Don said: Amazing to me how shallow the root system was--hence the wide spread. Looks like it was growing on top of an impermeable layer of rock. That's what it looks like to me, too. Shallow soil over ledge/bedrock (or other unsuitable substrate) is super common here in Maine, and trees often cope by sending their roots out over a very wide radius. Apparently in this case it may not have been wide enough, especially if other trees had been removed around it, leaving it to stand more or less by itself and unprotected against the wind. We have ledge protruding from the soil in several places in our back yard, and the foundation of our new garage was poured directly on solid ledge, which presented an interesting challenge for scribing/fitting the concrete forms to match the convolutions in the ledge. I made a custom scribing tool for that purpose, but perhaps that's straying too far from the thread topic. Edited 5 hours ago by Blue Chips 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
