Back Yard Progress

 

Some of you may remember that we had to say goodbye to our tree house last fall.  The Silver Maple it rested in had a fatal fungus.  The tree was likely as old as the house--75 years.  We were sad to see it go.  

Step one was getting the tree house out of the tree.  My dad did that pretty much single handed.  If you look closely, you can see Solomon glumly looking on in the window.  

The tree came down, providing a fascinating spectacle for everyone who was home that day.  Our yard looked bare indeed when they were finished, plus there were several ruts from heavy machinery.  It was time for a revamp, so we began to re imagine the backyard.

It just so happened there were plenty of used swing sets on craigslist at the time (late April or early May).  Solomon helped me scope this one out.



A few weeks later, my Dad helped us disassemble and move it to our yard.  Solomon got a little practice with power tools.

 

The girls thought the 'Grandma's Attic' in the U-Haul was a good spot for a picture.

Meanwhile, we were doing some backyard gardening.  The ultimate goal is a butterfly garden back here, but this year it is more or less a flower garden.  We had lilies, joe pie weed, butterfly weed, and columbine from previous years.  Blue bachelor buttons, orange and red poppies, four o'clocks and sunflowers were all annuals we added to the mix.   

   

The cat is rather fond of the 'parent bench' (as in, the place for grown-ups to sit while the kids are on the playground). 

Wood chips from the tree made a path through the garden.  Ariadne enjoyed shoveling.  River rock we found the garden beds formed the sides of the path.  Note to all homeowners: don't bury landscaping rock, it will haunt future generations of gardeners.

My parents (especially my dad) have been a tremendous help through this entire process. Above my dad and Solomon are working on getting the roof up on the tower portion of the swing set.  Below my mom and the girls took a break from spreading wood chips to try out the swings.  

This is more or less where we are at present.  We added a heavy duty wave slide and replaced the old swings with Charlotte and Aria's swings (which had been suspended from the clothesline). More to come!

Treehouse Farewell and Bonfire Party

We have had a fabulous treehouse in our back yard for over four years now.  I dreamed it up one winter and my dad built it the next Spring.  It is 10' by 10', minus the giant tree trunk in the middle. It has a front porch and a suggestion of a roof.  The older two kids have slept in it every summer, taking up books and sleeping bags, snacks and (hopefully) bug spray.  It has been the coveted high ground in ever one of Solomon's birthday water fights (three years running).  Nova figured out the rope ladder herself just this spring (before we had a regular ladder leading up as the mechanics of the rope ladder proved a bit difficult for us adults.

Sadly the huge silver maple that it resides in is not doing well.  We suspect it is about 70 years old--the same as our house.  We knew it wouldn't last forever, we just thought we'd have several years left. Looking up into the canopy about two weeks ago we noticed a fungus on a dead branch--little white shelves all over the western face.  That alone was not too worrying, but the fact that the fungus continued down, past the floor of the treehouse on the main trunk was more than a little disturbing. Finding that it matched a fungus named 'heart rot' seem a death knell.  So--we had a party.

We set the date for just a week and a half out, since the following Friday was Halloween.  Chili, cider and a bonfire were offered as well as a farewell tour of the treehouse.  We invited widely, the kids' friends, our friends, the neighbors, grandparents and any aunts or uncles in the area.  One of Solomon's friends ended up coming early and helping with yard work and making the chili, which was nice.  We borrowed crock pots, ladles and a mixer from neighbors (my mixer died in the middle of making frosting).  A massive leaf pile for jumping and and driveway basketball court rounded out the outdoor activities.

And then 53 people came.  Even my high estimates had been no more than 40.  But, it worked out remarkably well.  The weather was perfect.  The kids (approximately 25 of our guests were under 18) ran around and generally had fun.

Some of our guests checked out the tree house.  (Above is a little tour--pretend we are taking you up  to hang out by the trunk, in the corner, and on the front porch). Others visited on the ground or in the house.  The leaf pile was a hit.  The food held out. We had a good time.

A little before dusk we got the fire started.  And then as night fell, the crowd dwindled.  We sat around the fire a while longer, and before we knew it, it was just us.  Thanks for coming everyone!  We will miss our tree and treehouse.

Solomon is 11!

On July 27th, 2012 Solomon turned 11!!  I can't believe how big he is! (5' 2 1/2'' to be exact).  His actual birthday was the opening day of the Olympics, and we spent that at Grandpa John and Granne's house.  We had birthday cake and birthday dinner and watched the opening ceremonies.  As late July is prime time for camps, vacations, etc, we had his party a couple weeks later.

When it came to party planning, Solomon was very clear.  He wanted friends over for a water fight.  Then movies or video games.  And pizza to eat, along with root beer and marble cake with chocolate frosting.  And that's what we did.  It was glorious.

The Battle of Tree House

Foolishly, I'd planned to take them to the beach after a half hour or so--how long can four boys (and a couple tag-along sisters) have a water fight for anyway?  Turns out--over two hours!  The tree house was the fort--which changed hands many times.  There were water grenades, water balloons, water shooters, super soakers, buckets and hoses.  Double agents, negotiations, sneaking escapes, a photo journalist (who got caught in the crossfire) and Dad all played a roll.

  

Negotiations

The Trade