canker, blast & gummosis

This photo somewhat captures the sight of these puffs of cotton growing outside my window, bees and birds swirling around. That's the healthy part of the tree. On the left are large, dead branches hollowed out by fungus and in some places oozing sap. Did I mention that it's probably a cherry, but I'm not even sure? An astute young man pointed out the fungus to me, and subsequent research suggests this is a case of bacteriological canker, blast and gummosis. So today I took my saw, soaked it in alcohol, and hacked off a few diseased limbs. Some of them were so hollowed and termite infested (an effect, not a cause of the disease) that I could break 'em off with my hand. But the puffballs live on...