When is the Last Time You Climbed a Tree?

On Friday morning, the weather was beautiful!  After sending Sarah off to school on the bus, The Banana, Mr. Sneaky Pants and I decided it would be a good morning for a little preschool-sized hike.  We drove to the nature park nearby, and hiked up to rock knob, one of the greatest hikes for small people that I know of.  There is a rewarding view in the middle of the hike without any scary cliffs.  We had such a good time playing on the rocky summit of the hill.  

On the way down, Mr. Sneaky Pants was thinking of his cousins and remembering how they loved so much to climb trees in the forest when we all went hiking last March.  He was absolutely desperate to climb a tree.  And luckily, near the Nature Center, there are two ENORMOUS, ancient willow trees with trunks and branches that sprawl out every which way close to the ground.  He had such a good time climbing around and up and down.  

Eventually, of course, he managed to climb up a limb that slanted up off the ground with perfect branch handles.  He climbed so high he got a little nervous, and then had difficulty turning around and climbing back down.  So, I had to do a little tree rescuing, which left me scrambling around inside the tree as well, feeling a bit uncoordinated.  It was, admittedly, fun, however.  The crinkly bark, branches swaying in the wind, and a precarious up-in-the air view were all things I realized that I hadn't experienced up close and personal in the last several years.  

If you're bored, you might give tree climbing a try in the next few days as well!