TREE FRIENDS
Having a tree as a friend might seem strange to you but when; you are a kid living on a farm 15 miles from the nearest town, you find friends where you can. The farm we moved to from the city was a long-established farm. The buildings were situated in a circle about halfway up a hill from the creek valley where the corn and hay fields ran alongside the creek. The main road ran from the gate at the top of another hill down through the valley across a low water crossing of the creek then up another hill to the farm buildings.
The yard around the house was huge and surrounded by mature oak trees of different kinds. At the top of the yard was a gigantic tree that we later found out was called an Angle Oak. It had many shoots coming from a central trunk. These would spread out covering most of the top of the yard. It was a great tree for shade and many an afternoon was spent lying in the shade reading a book while my little sister took a nap on a blanket next to me.
It was a great tree for climbing and my brothers had built a tree house in the huge limbs. If no one else was around, I would climb up to a high branch and tell the tree my secrets. I never had to worry about being teased or laughed at about what I told the tree. It was an Angle Tree after all and could be trusted.
On the side of the yard near the road were two huge Pin Oak trees that grew tall and didn’t start growing branches until high up the tree. These trees we convinced dad would make a great tree swing. It was easy to get dad to do stuff. He was the youngest of six kids in his family and had a lifetime of ideas on how to make stuff. Mom used to say he was just another one of the kids. He pulled the tractor into the yard and then stood on the top of it to reach the sturdiest branches. He then looped a roped around the limb and secured it so it would stay put. He then did the same thing to the tree next to it. Next, he took a six-foot-long board two inches thick and twelve inches wide, drilled holes at each end to thread the rope through, and secure them. Dad had been in the Navy and we loved to watch him tie knots. This way the swing hung between the two trees. It was about twelve inches off the ground so if we fell we wouldn’t get hurt. As we grew and got better at it dad raised the swing up higher.
We could all 4 of us ride the swing at the same time. The two bigger kids would startle the board with the two little ones between us. Dad would give us a push up the hill then we would swing back down toward the bottom of the hill. By bending forward and then backward we could keep the swing going for a long time. When we didn’t have our little sister with us we could get the swing going really fast. With practice, my brother could stand in the center of the board bend his knees to get the motion started then using his arms to steady himself and get the swing to go fast and high without holding on to the rope. I could get the swing to do the same but not as high or as fast as my brother.
When cousins would come to visit in the summer we would show them how to use the tree swing. Of course, there were contests to see who could swing the highest or how many could swing at the same time. When they were challenged to try and swing standing up things got interesting. It took a while for them to get the knack of swinging standing up without holding on. But after a few falls and some tears they usually got the hang of it.
Farm kids are resourceful and imaginative. You have to come up with ways to occupy your free time. You don’t get toys bought from stores; you are expected to entertain yourselves a lot. And the older ones take care of the younger ones. But after chores are done and the adults are working the minds of kids can run free, and a farm can be a place of adventure and discovery. If you grew up on a farm you had an advantage over most of your city friends. You learned work ethic and that everyone had to help out to finish a project. Also that it was ok to use your imagination to come up with ways to occupy your free time.
A child’s mind is a terrible thing to waste. Start them young to use that God-given talent for figuring things out. Let them discover ways to accomplish what they want with what they have instead of buying something new. They will thank you later for it.
If this took you back to a happy time of your childhood; I have accomplished what I set out to do. Leave me a comment and your email and I will email you back.
GOD BLESS
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