Tree House

From the day we moved here, Peter has been saying he wanted to build a tree house and we have been saying, "go for it". We have lots of oak trees and he had his eye on a particular one. OilMan pointed out that it presented some problems, and suggested a different one, but Peter still thought his choice was perfect.. We have a pile of bits and pieces of lumber left over from various projects, and we told him he could use anything he wanted from it.

Time went by and not much happened until he recruited his friend Gavin to help him. The first pass was a learning experience. They realized that OilMan was right, and it is impossible to do anything useful with the bits of pieces of lumber hand their limited knowledge of carpentry and engineering.

Today they came with renewed energy and a new vision. They came through the canyon where we walk our dogs and is the site of numerous boy projects, ranging from driving trucks through the field and creating huge mud holes, to building ramps and bridges and jumps for dirt bikes, and building tree forts. They arrived at our back gate carrying the ladder to a long unused tree fort , and an abandoned bicycle ramp, which once looked impossibly dangerous, and today was lying flat in the mud. These items gave them the impetus they needed, and the two of them were up there for hours with hammers, saws nails and even some of the remnants from our pile.

While they were eating lunch I asked if they were finished or if it was still a work in progress. Definitely still a work in progress, they said. "We still need solar panels, a TV and, oh yeah, some cup hooks. As I look at the gathering clouds, it strikes me that a roof might be useful too, but my advice was not sought.