Timber!

My husband and I have another house in Raleigh that we rent to my son and his family.  It is located in a part of the city called North Hills, which is very wooded; the lots were not clear-cut when the homes were built in the late 50's and early 60's.  When Bob lived there with his family, he cut down numerous pine trees to allow some light into the yard so grass could grow.  Two huge oak trees were left standing in the front yard, and one of those had become a problem through the passing years.
The huge red oak tree, estimated to be 95 feet tall, started leaning to the south this summer.  It had always leaned a little, but this year it was on the move.  All of the branches on the tree were on the south side because of another tree being on its northern side, and one branch, which hung low and which the boys could touch while swinging on the tree swing, dropped so low that those same little boys could touch it from the ground!  A crack about 8 feet long also appeared on the north side of the trunk of the tree, so it was clear that it was leaning and was in danger of coming down during a storm -- or at any time.  If it came down voluntarily, it would take out all of the wires that ran down the street on the poles, knocking out electricity, phone and internet service to who knows how many people.
So we had to call a tree cutting service to remove the tree.  I worked half a day that Friday, the day before Hurricane Irene visited North Carolina, and hurried over to the house when I got off work.  The huge tree was reduced to a stump by the time I arrived.  Bob was there and had taken photos of the entire process, from topping off the branches to taking down the trunk.  Curious to know the approximate age of the tree, Bob counted 115 rings on the trunk.  We should have measured the base of the trunk, but we didn't; however, we estimate that it was at least 4 feet across at its widest point.
Our young grandsons thought it was the grandest thing to stand on that stump and jump down, slipping and sliding down the slope covered with wood chips.  Later, a stump grinder arrived and finished reducing the stump to chips.
The tree is not all chips, though.  A lot of the larger limbs were left for us to cut as firewood, and the trunk was cut into huge sections to be milled into oak boards.  The owner of the tree trimming company, who also owns a mill, told me that the tree would yield some very nice boards.  So, we had to pay him a large chunk of cash to take down that tree, and he's going to make probably at least that much by selling the boards he gets from it!  Go figure!
By viewing the photos and videos Bob took, I was able to see how those guys, totally oblivious to how high up they were, cut, segmented and lowered all the branches and trunk, not allowing one of them to drop heavily to the ground and gouge the lawn.  It was amazing to watch.

Needless to say, Bob and I were very relieved that the tree was down before Hurricane Irene came to town.  The winds were only around 40 mph in Raleigh with about 1.5 inches of rain, but considering how far the tree had leaned, even that degree of storm could have spelled disaster. 
The bigger they are, the harder they fall, and this one would have fallen hard.
We've asked for a board from the tree to make a bench for our garden -- I hope our request is granted.  It would be a nice reminder of that mighty red oak.