Took 6 hours to diagnose a cracked trunk on a mature oak

Had a client in Austin call about a live oak dropping leaves in May. I climbed up, checked the canopy, tested soil moisture, even looked for borers. Turned out the crack was on the lower trunk facing the fence, hidden by ivy. I only found it after stripping the vine back with a pry bar. Has anyone else had a hidden structural issue that ate up half a workday?

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foster.wade17d ago

That ivy is a killer, hides everything. I've had a few times where I spent forever checking roots and limbs and the real problem was just sitting there under some bush or vine I walked right past. Makes me wanna strip every bit of vegetation off the base of a tree before I even start looking up.