...so, if you hadn't been there... anyway, to reply to your question, yes, I have observed that same thing (three times), but now that I think about it, only in deciduous woods. Once was close enough to me that a smaller tree could have hit me as it was crushed down by the falling tree. The three that I have seen have been large (old) trees. But this makes me wonder - often there are dead "leaners" in the coniferous areas I haunt - held aloft merely by the neighboring tree(s) they tipped over onto - occasionally I use the smaller of those as fire wood as they tend to be nice and dry - and with no obvious reason for why they toppled.<br><br>Two of those three occasions were on flat ground in the middle of the woods - not on the edges of the forest. Once was on a hillside. Like you said, no wind, even aloft. All three were during the warm months - not my favorite time of the year to be in the woods in the midwest or south. I do not know why they fell, but they had all been dead for some time. Root decay + static imbalance? No termites or carpenter ants in the three I saw fall - I think the wind gets those before gravity does, but I could be mistaken.<br><br>In this part of the country, "widow-makers" are large dead branches that are (temporarily) hung up in the branches above, awaiting the right breeze to send them crashing down. I think the exact meaning is regional, as I've seen other "suspended wonders" (like leaning trees) called "widow-makers" in other parts of the country. Same intent, I guess.<br><br>It was "out of the clear blue sky" each time I've witnessed it - a real " <head whip> what's that??!!" surprise. FWIW, they have all been in the last 8 years, but I think that's a coincidence.<br><br>Glad you mentioned it. Pretty startling, isn't it?
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