Here's a closer view of the split

Close-up of the bottom of the split:

Close-up of tether:

I'm considering drilling a hole straight through and installing a 3/4" bolt (black horizontal line in photo)

This post was edited by tenacre on Sat, Jul 12, 14 at 12:04

Fun to play around with, but I would cut it off at the ground.
Mike

.
I plan to get as many years enjoyment from this tree as possible. I have no intention of cutting it off at the ground.

Below is a view from our kitchen window. The tree in question is the orange one slightly right of center.

It does look nice from a distance. I would try to keep it as long as possible as well.

So would I.
It didn't look like anything special in your first pics. Not even a name and it was at the edge of the woods.
Looks a little different now.
Bo