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August 09, 2014

A termite's last bite?



We were on a walk with friends around Woodlake Nature Center last week. It was a quiet, still day. The water was glassy, the wind nonexistent. As we were walking on the trail we heard this loud cracking sound and 20 feet behind us this huge Cottonwood snapped at it's base and started Falling across the path! WHA?! It stopped at an angle after learning against another tree. I just couldn't fathom the chances of that happening. The thing was at least 50 years old, maybe 100. It's been living longer than we've been alive. And at exact moment we walk under it, on a day with no wind, no particular reason for it to fall, it does. What are the chances? I bet a mathematician could calculate this. I wonder what caused it? Maybe one tiny little termite took one last bite? Maybe it just gave up on life? I don't know. Pretty neat. And a little scary!



I went back and took this photo of where it snapped:

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