Every now and then I have to remind myself about the Important Things in Life. Yesterday, I had one of those moments. Annie had gone down to the house, and I was taking a break from digging through the redwood roots to make a trench so we could bury the chicken wire in the pen. I was standing by the truck wondering if my arms were going to ever work again. Of course, they did as evidenced by the beer I was holding. At any rate, I looked up into the trees and saw something I had been seeking for nine years.

The problem with redwoods and douglas firs is that the branches are generally small and do not reach very far from the tree. Granted, there are some firs like the one by the barn, which is ten feet across at the base, but it is not a good location for this critical item in any home: a swing. Not just a swing like the one hanging from Annie's play structure, but a swing that inspires thoughts of really flying. A swing that makes a kid dream of being an astronaut or a daredevil.

And there it was: the Perfect Branch. It was about forty feet off the ground, a foot in diameter where it met the trunk, and extended out about twenty feet. As I returned to digging trenches, I started forming a plan for how I was going to get a rope around it. When I decided to put my plan into action, it proved more difficult than I had anticipated, but doesn't everything... Try as I might, I could not get the weight I had chosen over the branch. I hit it a couple of times, but the drag from the twine just kept pulling it down a little too much. Annie figured out what I was doing, although I didn't want her to know in case I couldn't do it. I was about to give up when I saw the crushed look on her face. We drove to one of our hunting-type neighbors to see if he had a bow. He didn't. I was running out of options. I sent Annie next door to see if they had something, and she came back holding a small lead weight. I was doubtful, but it was small enough to cup in my hand and I could launch it easily. The second toss found its way over the branch... about two feet further down the branch than I wanted. This location did not look as safe to me, so I tried to pull the weight back over. It got stuck... It's still there... with a long length of twine hanging down... I am trusting the curiosity of squirrels to eventually break it free.

Annie went back to the neighbors, and returned with another weight. Sometimes being a pack-rat pays off. With renewed confidence, I launched the new weight into the air, and we watched it soar higher and higher. It cleared the branch and came down the other side in the perfect location. We hoisted the rope up, cut a board, and ten minutes later Annie was screaming with enjoyment as she swung out over the hillside.



By the way, that's the old chicken coop in the background. It is now a rat coop.

No, I didn't get as far as I wanted on the Chickdominium, but this turned out better anyway. I really, really want to get that blasted coop done, though.

Happy daddy because of a happy daughter...