Widow Maker

...and exactly how were you planning to manage that? Having a branch move in a way you did not anticipate and knock a ladder out from under you will kill you just as dead as having it fall on your head.

I suppose you might try one of those "chain between two ropes" saws, with long ropes.

Got a shot gun?

it looks as though the tree the limb is hung up in is dead, if this is so i would fall it first and hopefully the limb will break of with it, if not it will just hang on the the tree it's broke off from. when making yor cut after putting in the face notch, bore through the trunk cutting up to the notch leaving only about 1" of wood at the hinge, then cut from the center to the back this leave's the last wood cut at the very back of the trunk. when you turn it loose you have more time to get out than if you cut back to face. when you get to about the last inch on the back that is still holding the tree you can stand upright and cut down at a slight angle to meet the bore cut releasing the tree. i cut large hardwood timber for a living for over 35 years and have used this method many times. always wear a hard hat and don't go out felling alone. ross

Thanks for the ideas. I took down a different cherry tree to use for now but your replies give me a great starting point to figure out what to do in the future. I run through the woods a couple of times per week and have often stopped by that clump of trees and wondered what to do. It helps to ask people who have been there before.

Part 2

I set up Google Analytics to monitor the blog I referenced above. The blog is meant for a small number of relatives and coworkers not the world in general but I was curious. So if you have ever wondered anything about where the people are who read the posts in this group, the following is a list of the locations of people who followed the link the blog on November 20th:

US - 56 (spread over 24 states) - perhaps 5 of the visits are not from this group Canada - 8 United Kingdom - 7 Australia - 1

Thanks again to all who responded. People get smarter if they ask dumb questions:)