We had three days of high gusty winds last week, resulting in several fallen branches.  Some of these limbs looked like like small trees, towering over my head while laying on their side.  The largest of them fell across a fence but thankfully it didn’t cause any lasting damage.  When the weight was removed, the fence was easily restored to its correct position.

Over the past few months we have had other branches fall on days without wind. I actually saw one large branch fall across a path I had walked on only minutes before. Living here, I have come to understand why campers are told never to put a tent under a tree in the Australian bush. Some branches are weakened by animals and birds attempting to make nests by burrowing into weakened wood, while others are caused by termites, or the poor condition of the tree. Some trees seem to be structurally weak and prone to branches falling.

Two positives which come from the fallen branches are firewood for next winter and the opportunity to examine the leaves a little more closely – hopefully to identify the tree species.  Looking at the leaves and the bark, it seems there are at least three separate species.  I will write about each one in a separate post showing photographs of the leaves.

On a warm summer day without wind, this large branch fell within sight of the house.

This branch was one of two, similar in size, from the same tree. They both came down in last week’s wind storm.

Another large branch which fell last week, almost in the same place as the February branch.

Minutes before this huge branch fell out of the tree, I was walking on this track.

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