Avocado Climbing

Yesterday I climbed up high into the canopy of the enormous Avocado tree that graces our back yard. I had never had the nerve to go that far before. Its not that I am afraid of heights, but ever since I had my first child, I have found I am less willing to risk life and limb than I was. The Avocado is an easy tree to climb. Its branches are so sturdy they don’t budge under the weight of an adult. They tend to grow up and then out, almost horizontally in places and making right angels in others, providing easy places to step and hold on. Recently we hung ropes in the branches which helped me get up as high as I did. It was already a very hospitable tree and my six year old daughter was able to get pretty far out onto one of its big lower limbs. But watching her one day I realized it would be possible for her to simply walk along the largest branches if she just had something to hang onto. I thought about building a spare wooden structure with bars perhaps into the branches, but it seemed awkward and ugly. Then I thought about just hanging some rope. So I asked our friend Michael Stewart who is a man of many talents if he would like to tackle such a project. Michael is a genius problem-solver and tree lover and he jumped at the chance to do something fun. We came up with fanciful plans of hammocks and nets that children could jump into along with a network of ropes to help them get up high. But soon after he started working on it we realized we didn’t want to put so much rope in that it would obscure the beautiful shape of the tree. Part of the joy that this magnificent Avocado offers is in the way your eyes travel up and down her great thick limbs that twist and turn at odd angles, sometimes growing into each other. So we kept it simple. A network of ropes overhead for adults to hold onto with additional ropes and rings hanging down for the kids. He also attached two small pieces of wood directly to the trunk to help kids get up on the first branches. The amazing thing is how it compliments the tree. The ropes look almost like vines and the rings add a little geometry. Together they invite children and adults alike to get up into the tree. The best part is climbing with my daughter. It feels so amazing to be up high in the tree with her. It makes me alive in a way that is different and its fun to share the excitement of that with her. We like to pretend we are birds.