Proof that critters love cover...

Last summer, a storm knocked this massive hackberry tree over, one of the 2 storms to grace this area, in what was an otherwise extremely dry season... 3 months of no rain in Houston...

unfortunately, there was no way to prop it back up, or leave it as it lay (it merely twisted and cracked at the base, and came to rest on the utility pole that was right next to it in the backyard)

So, the city finally came along and chopped it up, dropping the bulk of it on the ground. And left us with the responsibility of removing it all. Which was not possible, as the landlord forced us to shell out the funds to deal with it. So there it sat.

Within weeks, the whole thing was teaming with life. Snakes, lizards, bugs, birds, and who knows what else. Even our dogs loved rooting around in it.

I like to think that a generation of certain critters was well served by this habitat, as it sat there for a good 2 months.

Rotting wood on the ground is a wonderful resource for Mother Nature.

If you have the time and inclination to chop the branches up smaller, they will decompose faster. It's likely too dry to try inoculating the larger bits with a native mushroom, but that would sure help those bits turn into healthy soil faster.

If you're in the right climate for it, you can dig holes and bury lots of the wood to decompose slowly like a hugel does. I put punky wood in the bottom of my planters any time I'm building or renovating them. It makes the difference between needing to water daily, vs only once or twice a week depending on the time of year. We have rainy winters, but summer droughts that vary in length and intensity.

One year I took some logs, cut out the center, and turned them into bird-houses. Lots of people feed local birds, but they need good nest sites too.

Glad you're seeing this as a resource and a benefit, rather than only as an eyesore of a mess!

We actually weren't long for that place, so I never bothered. It kinda seemed cursed TB... ugh... To Be Honest. And now that I think of it, it was... or my sister was. She was the one who moved us there, from the BEST place we have been at, much to my "unaccepting" of the move. Ah, it all makes sense now! lol

The tree was finally cleaned up, and the logs stored in the corner of the yard, on the other side. Then our big dog passed, and we moved shortly after.

I came back to this thread, though, to point out that in the far back corner in the image, under all that overgrowth, was a gaping hole in the chain-link fence, as a tree had grown through it, after the fence was installed. The tree just ripped the fence right open, and our big dog began squeezing through it, and under it, after the wood fence fell. So I began trying to thwart him, by stuffing, jamming and nailing any and all loose things in the yard that I thought he couldn't break through. Mostly branches and boards, but also a big ball, a fluorescent  light hood, a grill, and bricks. It was a constant battle, but it finally ended with the tree being downed right in front of it.

I think it broke his heart, or something, as he got progressively worse subsequent... coupled with the brutal heat that we could not escape for 3 days, no doubt. So, yes, fully cursed, me thinks. Glad it has passed.