go climb a tree!

This is Colleen's friend Jheri doing a guest post.  I live in København and happen to love trees.  To me this means being under and in them.  Up in them!  I love to climb trees. I'm probably not supposed to. People told me girls aren't supposed to do unladylike things, but it is something I've done since I was a little.  People like Colleen and Jheri tend to ignore what girls and women are supposed to be. Tell the right girl she shouldn't be in a tree and you find a women in one. 

But trees are for almost  everyone with a bit of adventure in them.  Boys, girls, men, women and people who act their shoe size;-)

If you decide to try, please be careful and make sure you are  and the tree are both in good shape.  Find a strong tree.  Find one with large branches that can support your weight.  I hang from the branches and see how they bend. Try some stretching first and loosen yourself up.  Use a knot, hole or branch for a foothold, reach up and grab a branch and make believe you are an animal.  I'm pretty tall and that gives me good reach.  Colleen would be even better! But kids and shorter adults have advantages too as you can move around in tighter areas better.  Some trees fit better than others, so do some scouting.

I usually wear gloves, thick jeans and a thick long sleeved shirt to prevent cuts.  

Some people use ropes and go way up, but I just like to get into a place there there are leaves everywhere. When someone gives me a strange look, I look straight into their eyes and tell them I study trees.  This is true - I really am studying the trees!

A few trees have nice places that cradle you and allow you to sit.  There are several very nice ones that I climb and love so much I consider friends.  In four of these I go a bit further and have installed small wooden platforms.  No one has seriously questioned me when I go up in the tree with my tool belt and  pieces of wood.  My platforms are not large and are not much more than nice places to sit - mostly a half meter on a side, but one is two meters by a meter and is a nice place to read or take a nap. 

Be very careful if you build a platform!  My father taught me how to make these when I was a teenager, but he would probably not approve now because I'm 25 and am supposed to be an adult:-)  But he would be proud of my technique.  I measure several times and cut the wood at a neighbor's apartment.  In a few hours I have a kit that easily bolts together in the tree.   After the platform goes up, it gets water-proofed and I inspect it for problems every month.

You might think about this if you have a beautiful and strong family tree.  With care and good common sense, it is a good thing to teach your kids.  These thing are so rare that your kids will be the envy of their friends.  You probably don't want  to encourage them to go too high.  My trees are big and the platforms are between three and four meters up.  I think one to two meters is probably better for a kid.  

If you have a large tree and kids, or if you act like a kid, you might want go a bit deeper and build a tree house.  I have never made one and am happy with my platforms, but it would make an awesome family project.  One of my friends has a friend who is an author and writes in his treehouse.

I wonder if Colleen's Zula and Daisy Mae would go up under her arm if she built something in a tree?  Then the  tree would have two kinds of bark.

Jheri says go climb a tree!  It is better than television and will connect you with nature even if you live in a city.  You can take a good book and spend hours up there.  The leaves blow around you, the limbs gently sway, squirrels do squirrel things,  and sometimes birds fly by you.  The smell and feeling takes you from your worries and makes you realize what beauty is.  You are instantly a child with all of that imagination and wonder.  You are a scientist discovering new and wonderful things.  You are an explorer and an athlete.  Morning, midday and night are completely different places.  Children smile with delight when they see you disappear into the leaves, old people remember their youth, and adults have more than a little envy.

I have gone up with a proper checkered tablecloth, silverware and candles for a formal dinner with a friend. I have lugged my laptop into a tree in the range of a wifi station and followed one of Colleen's volleyball games thousands of kilometers away.  She seemed much closer than if I was watching from my apartment and that made me very happy.  I have sat through warm rainstorms shielded mostly from the rain pounding down making a noise even I can hear.  There is a different world that is so close.

A little girl looking at me tugged on her mother's arm and said - mommy look, a lady elf!  There are worse things in life.

Jheri out

Comments

[marguerite manteau-rao]

Colleen, two years ago I was involved with an environmental art project called, The Witness Trees Project. Since then, I have gained much appreciation for the big old trees, and what they can teach us. For they truly are witnesses. If only we listened!

Now I have left the art world for blogging and business, two ventures that are a lot easier to fund, and market . . .

http://lamarguerite.wordpress.com/2008/09/05/energy-vampires-in-my-house/

[steve]

Your wonderful description made my smile Jheri! I will forgive you for the barking dogs:-) I must say that I had never considered a formal dinner with candlelight in a tree.

[Sukie]

Being in a tree makes a person feel so alive and connected. It's an energizing yet peaceful feeling that far too many have never experienced.

A few days ago I thanked Nancy Isles Nation who was my best friend through most of childhood for getting me to climb my first tree. Unfortunately, it was a pine -- very messy -- but knowing that I COULD do it led to my getting up into a range of other trees, with the cherry tree in our backyard being an especially good friend when I needed some time of my own.

Jheri, so many thanks for writing this beautiful piece.

[steve]

take a look at the japanese treehouse network ..

http://treehouse.jp/jtn/index.html