Garden Pests and Diseases: Ewww: what is this gold fungus- like stuff on my oak tree?, 0 by goshsmom

goshsmom wrote:
Hmm. I tried to put all the pertinent stuff in the title. But the oak tree is abt 50 years old, huge, & has some similar sized oak firends in neighboring yards. In my yard, it's right next to some elderly pines. I noticed last year that this branch was pretty bare, but as it hangs over a neighbor's fence & yard, I thought I'd wait & see. Anybody know what this might be? If so, on a scale of 1 to 10, how much trouble is my oak tree in? (10 being encase it in plastic, have it cut down & hauled away & have yard decontaminated & all other plants & trees removed.)