My Favorite Tree

[etat]

Did ya ever have a favorite tree when ya was a kid.  Well I did.  I used to climb lots of trees, when I was little I considered them a challange.  Lots a little hickories I rode down back behind the house.  Hickory was best to ride down a small tree cause it wouldn't break on you.  Had plenty of spring to it.  I'd pick one the right size, climb up as high as you can, and keep rocking it back and forth until you could step on the ground.

Lots of old oaks behind the house.  That was a past time of mine for a long time, climbing trees, I'd like to go to the top.

My favorite was an old crooked oak.  Was on a fence line in the pasture way back out of sight of the house.  I must a spent days and days in that tree if you put it all together. At different times I was about everything you could imagine.  A cowboy, a indian, a soldier, a pirate, a bird and squirrel watcher, you name it.  If it could come to my imagination, that's what I'd be.  Most of the time out there by myself.

Barbwire fence growed in it down low.  Big tree, Huge.  Missed the last logging years ago cause it was a line tree, barbwire, and so crooked.  Had me a couple a boards nailed up in it.  Did more than a little bit of meditating, and daydreaming up in that tree.  

I don't have a picture of it.  It never crossed my mind that it wouldn't outlast me.  But about 10 years ago it finally outlived itself and bit the dust.  The lower section died first and dropped of.  Later the rest of it followed.  I still remember it.  Once you got up past the barbwire you could walk it, squirm around the up section, and make your way out on the platform on the forks of the lower limb.  The upper section had a limb just over head high from standing up on the lower limb.  Then about 10 or 12 feet no limbs, and from there plenty of odd limbs to climb on and work your way to the top.  Way up there.  First time I got the nerve to go to the top, it took me forever to get the nerve to climb back down.  First rule of tree climbing without any ropes or spikes or safety equiptment.  Going up is always easier than climbing down!!!

[beenthere]

Brings back good memories to me, cktate.  My brothers and neighbor boys and I had a couple large willow trees along the gravel road, that the hi-lines went right through. Never gave it much thought other than we shouldn't touch the wires, but we spent countless hours up, around, above, and below those wires as we kept a 'fort' in each tree.
As far as riding trees, we hike off to the creek bottom and take turns climbing to the top of aspen trees, that grew thick and close together. Then someone would chop it down with the chicken-killin' hatchet and we would ride the aspen tree down as it fell to the ground through all the other trees. Hang on tight and keep your eyes about closed.
We also had a big, line-fence mulberry tree that we would sit in and eat mulberries until we would practically burst. Then on to the green apple trees...... Thanks for the memories.

[Stan]

There was a big ol' Yeller Pine in Granddad's front yard. He'd planted it when He acquired the place, shaded the old swing that we would pile on and try to wreck. It had two bench seats that faced each other and a canvas top. Made a perfect stagecoach, til the day Cousin Lois fell off and the platform busted her arm. You didn't climg the tree though it leaked way too much sap.  :-/ The house is gone now, the pine is bigger'n it seemed way back then, and my brother-in-law restored the swing.  8) 8) 8)

[steveo_1]

 We had some sugar maples in the front yard we would climb three  in a triangle shaped area. I guees they must have been 40 or 50 yrs old then.We would take turns climbing each one,cant be just climbing one and the others gettin no attention,one died few yrs back and the drought we had a few years ago must have gotten the other 2 they had a few leaves in the tops last year and nothing at all this time.Kinda hate to cut em but they just standing dead now.They had limbs very close together and all the way up,very nice climbing trees.We also had a mulberry tree it still growing its a line tree so nobody to bother it.Good times! :D

[Mark M]

We had a big white pine I used to play in a lot. I nailed some boards to it for steps and made a platform to sit on. My mom gave me hell telling me I was going to kill it driving those nails into it. I visited that tree last summer (40 years later) and it is even bigger (so am I!). The steps and platform are still there but I wouldn't want to climb them anymore.

[Patty]

Thanks for the memories CK!  I remember my favorite climbing tree...I had to climb out my bedroom window onto the porch roof in order to get into my tree. I would sit up there for hours watching all the goings on, or pouting because I didn't get my way, or hiding from my dad. I don't think he ever did figure out where I was all those times!!  ;D

[Tom]

Charlie and I climbed mulberry trees, and cattly guava and Florida (Surinam) Cherry, mango, Rose Apple and various other fruit trees in Ft. Pierce eating all of the time.  Our favorite tree to climb had to be the big water oak in the back yard that had the rope swings hanging from it.

Cktate, I had an  experience riding trees too.  There was a friend of mine that lived a few blocks over named Freddy Ebner who had a big Australian Pine growing in his front yard.  We would climb to the top and get it swaying until it bent over.  We would be hanging about 35 or 40 feet off of the ground.  One day I was climbing to the top to take a ride and something happened.  I don't know what.  I slipped as I was trying to get it to go over and I fell through the limbs, going this-a way and then that-away until finally I hit flat on my back.  

Ugh!!  The wind was knocked out of me and I couldn't breath.. Thought I was going to die right there.  Finally I was able to breathe again and back up the tree I went. :D

Tree Climbing.   What a wonderful sport. ;D  You can see for miles. 8)

[Rocky_J]

Yeah, I've climbed one or two trees as well. My first that I can remember is when I was 7 years old and spent the summer with my Grandpa. He had some tall skinny trees beside the house and I climbed one of them all the way to the top, must have been 45'-50' high. I felt safe cause it had limbs all the way up so it was like climbing a ladder. But I got all the way to the top and was looking out over top of the (2.5 story) house and down the road and a breeze came along and swung me a little. So I started swinging back and forth to see how far I could swing!

My Grandpa also had a WWII Jeep and we would go riding through the woods exploring and knocking over saplings. That was the best summer of my life. My Grandpa passed away 6 months later and I am glad I got to spend that time with him. Heck, over 30 years later and I can still remember that summer like it was yesterday.  

[beenthere]

So many memories go back to being with grandpa.
As a grandpa now (with 6 grandkids), I can see we owe it to them to have a tree or two for them to climb. This was one of those times last fall.  

[Ed_K]

 CK, you sure know how to bring back some good times  ;). Mine were 100 yr old hardmaple's in the front yard at the town farm.
 beenthere, I always thought I was the only one to chop and ride a tree down  :D I got the idea from watchin National Geographic's tv show where they were catchin a monkey by cuttin the tree  ;D  8).

[Bro. Noble]

I had a favorite tree just this afternoon 8)

Was mowing the yard and I and the tractor were both running pretty warm.  Every round I'd stop under the cherry tree and benefit from it's shade while stuffing my mouth full of those sweet red juicy fruits ;D

[SwampDonkey]

I used to climb the white spruce trees behind the house and peak into the grackle bird nests. I was surprised that their eggs are as blue as robin's eggs. I seen a few baby robins too, they'de nest on the smaller spruce that grow along the edges of the big spruce. They seemed to like the thickets.

The limbs on these old spruce grow out long and are bigger than your arm. It was like climbing a big latter and you could climb clear to the top and pick cones if ya wanted too. Had some big fir too, but they are most all dead now and their limbs where smaller and not as safe to climb. Never fell, thank goodness, 50 feet up.  

[DanG]

I had 2 favorite trees to climb.  ;D  One was a big camphor tree behind the house where we lived, just west of Thomasville, Ga.  It was a magnificent climbing tree, with a huge network of limbs that were close enough that you could almost walk from one to another. We built a whole subdivision of tree houses in that sucker!  Unfortunately, this is where I learned that the holding power of a nail is not absolute!  That was back when big camphor trees were common, in these parts. The "big freeze" of '63 took care of that! :'(  Now, the only old ones are the "deep woods" trees, and they are heavily damaged.  I'm only now beginning to see a few little ones coming on. I have several on my place, but as I only have 30 or 40 good climbing years left in me :, I'll probably never climb another one.

The second was a little pecan tree in my Gramma's yard in South Carolina.  We liked to climb it because it was the only game in town. It had a low limb that we could jump up and grab, then throw a knee over and go on up. One day, I started up, and came face to face with a BIG grey rat snake, coiled in the crotch of the tree.  I never did feel good about climbing that tree again.

[SwampDonkey]

Had a row of box elder out by the ditch of the road we used to climb and play king of the hill. They had long reaching limbs that were not too high up, about 7 or 8 feet. I used to try to get the dog the jump up and grab me by the clothing. He'd latch on sometime and hang on and pull at ya to make ya loose your grip. When he got ya down it was a licking session. poo poo dog saliva, bleck. ;) He was a husky-shephard mix with one blue eye, one brown.  :D :D :D