This tree( all but the first pic) failed in the Dec 2006 storm. It was a double codominate. (Forked into two, then those two into 4 or 5 above)..We had installed a Cobra cable system in the canopy about 6 years ago.I hadn't pruned it, or if I did, not nearly enough. It failed below the cabled area, leaving about one branch. We left it at ~40 feet, as a wildlife snag and suggested having it carved into something. Ann decided to remove it, which we did yesterday. We lowered a 12 foot section with the GRCS, which probably weighed 1500 pounds. It had broken 16 feet above the fork, so we used the smaller trunk to lift the larger one off. Thern we felled the bottom 26 feet, and cut 4 slabs from the butt. Two will make nice tables. The other two have the face cut section missing. I might be able to dig down and cut one more. Anyone want to buy a table? Given time, We should be able to come up with some suitable legs from large curved cedar branches....I'm going to buy some special Anchor Seal wood sealant and paint the slabs tomorrow after work., to keep them from checking and cracking. Then Eric of GoGreen Design can help me get them planed and sanded. The holes will create some character for the table...something could be placed in them, like a glass candleholder...etc...
On either side of the tree, bigger and better cedars thrive. Ian Scott pruned one 6 years ago, and Dave Sturm and I pruned the other one last month, which is nearly 24 feet in circumference at ground level. (See the first pic)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbtree/sets/72157605931833891/