New Year, New Adventures!

This Will be a Year of Discovery

We are determined to make 2020 a better year. We’re going to do more together, we’re going to get outside more, create more, experience more, and teach our children how to do all these things. So, on New Year’s Eve the kids and I started with a very important task. We cut trees and thorns, and cleared a path in anticipation of a tree house!

It was hard work, and the older boys were more interested in cutting saplings than clearing thorns. But we were all outside, and did get the path done.

The girls did help a lot, and it was kinda weird and awesome to see them sawing trees. We borrowed some clippers from our neighbor (thanks J), and everyone loved clipping things. The only reason the shovel was out, really, was to keep the little ones occupied. There was a sloping hole on the east side of the trees that I was not comfortable with, so I cut some trees and moved logs to make a bridge. We’ll make something better when everything is done.

The tree with the impenetrable heart.

On New Year’s Day Nick cut down the two biggest trees that were in our way and then started bolting the framing to the trees. That big tree, not as dead as we’d thought, was a beast to cut down. Its heart was very strong! I managed to get a video of it falling, I think I’ll put that on our Facebook page. Anyway, after the first two boards were secure Nick had enough left to start the decking.

With the older four kids helping Nick, there’s not actually much for me to do. So I’ve been working at the edge of the woods taking down the first wall of brambles. Now, when you read about walls of thorns, thickets, and brambles you can’t even see through, this is what it looks like. I wish I had gotten “before” pictures, but there are other walls of thorns that we’ll take out later so I’ll take pictures then. I’ve cleared so much that we now have a nice glade for picnicking, playing, or maybe camping. We’ve even found a tree small enough but sturdy enough for the dudes to climb.