It’s been in my head for a long time. Several years. It hasn’t been the Treehouse on my mind as much as the time spent at it, and how it fits into the landscape – physically, figuratively, and historically. The structure is a just a small mark on the family parcel, even smaller on the county map. It has left some minor and temporary damage to my checkbook, a little more to my hands and back. But the biggest and longer lasting debt is to my father, my wife, family, and friends for their help in building it. Every board and every nail. Even the friends who charged me for their help, probably didn’t charge me enough.
That Treehouse is not done. It won’t ever be. I like it that way. ‘Everything is an experiment’ a wise man once said. Everything is also all a project. The way I see it, it’s a minor contribution to the family property – a piece of land which I wasn’t present for 1946 when my grandfather signed the deed. I wasn’t there when he laid the flagstone or mortar between the logs in the cabin he built on it either. And when my own father and mother restored that old cabin and added much more to it, I became a benefactor once again. I didn’t earn any rights to it and I still haven’t. I won’t ever. As I get older, I realize the best I can do is appreciate it, learn from it, share it, and try to take care of it. I’ll add to the place and it’s keen ability to foster friendships and provide porch swings, campfires, and hearths to come gather around.
For many years, many trails have ended in those Hemlocks in the Hocking Hills. They come for a night, a weekend, or longer. And from this place, many other trails begin. On one of those trails, a little “Treehouse” now sits. And I pay my pittance back and foreword, by spending some time at work and at play there with my family and friends.
Some video credits: Drone work courtesy of Andy Emery and his fine team of gentleman at Outsider Entertainment. Music by José González.
More on the Treehouse project is here.