OK. We are knee deep in mud around here. Not that I’m complaining. Just think about the drought of ‘07 when rain ceased for consecutive months and temperatures exceeded 105 degrees F, and you still appreciate the precipitation. But it is still pleasant to look at a project that was carried out under the soft blue Tennessee sky of November.
Tree platform between three living pine trees.
Three children got the urge to elevate some logs one day. The oldest was only ten, so you can see that these projects are not extremely difficult. With a little teamwork and a 6′ step ladder, these young arborists lashed the tree beams in place using 10-30 foot lengths of 3/8 polyester rope and a square lashing knot at each end of the beam. They then placed decking of scavenged boards and short timbers to form a decking.
Detail of pattern used to secure decking to tree platform.
The decking is best secured to the main beams by using a 1/8-3/16″ strong cord in the pattern illustrated above. First anchor the cord using a clove hitch. Then weave in and out between the decking elements (boards, posts, and other scavenged items) and the main beam between two trees. Maintain good tension. Very quickly you will have fashioned a fun tree house. After a month or two you might want to remove the tree platform so that the living trees can grow some more. And lastly, don’t forget to install a beam several feet (usually about half the height of the smallest child involved) above the decking above the main beams. This is especially important if the platform is higher than one foot above the ground. Use the square lashing to install this railing.
We are now in the middle of winter. The rain seems incessant. The mud is pervasive. Under such conditions we can focus on cleaning up our piles of tangled rope that perhaps were not properly stowed while the weather was warm and sunny. I hope you all have utility spaces or sheds in which you can neatly hang your rope collection, so that in the spring, when many outdoor activities commence, the rope supply will be ready for instant deployment.
Available storage space in our utility building.
Find a blank wall somewhere, and coil your rope using the standard method. Standard method you say! This site has a very clear illustration of one method to prepare a coiled rope for storage. And voila! Neat storage of short ropes from 10-30′ in length, which are perfect for lashing and various jobs around the farm.
Rope placed in storage on screws inserted into internal building frame.
Rope will last a long time when properly stowed. Shown in the above picture is a white diamond braided 3/8″ diameter polyester rope, and a black solid braid nylon rope of 3/16″ diameter.
Not everybody has the perfect walnut tree with the thick horizontal branch fifteen feet off the ground. Such a limb is perfect for the tree swing. If such a feature is lacking, all is not lost. A beam can be connected between two trees that will serve the purpose of suspending a swing. Check out this beam installation completed by our 10 year old Research Coordinator. She even built her own ladder to assist her in elevating the beam! As you can see, the beam is attached to trees using the Square Lashing.
The next and final step is to install the swing kit. This is simple using this link.
The cold snap in the Eastern U.S. seems to be winding down. The sun is visible, and warmth is returning to the land. Our thoughts turn to the possibilities found outdoors while the prospect of frost bite diminishes. We can hardly contain ourselves for thinking about the exhilaration of a new swing in a new location or a bigger, more elaborate tree house than we built last year.
One activity we would like to explore this week is installing swings where there are no suitable tree limbs. Not complicated. Our ten year old Research Coordinator managed this task without breaking a sweat. Look here for more details in another day or so, and a prosperous and joyful 2010 to you!
Before there were fancy kites that flew a hundred feet in the air, there was the shopping bag kite. This kite requires a pole, a five foot string, and a shopping bag. One fastens the string to the top of the pole with one turn and two half hitches. Forming a small loop with the two shopping bag handles, one then tyes a sheet bend with the other end of the string. Voila, the shopping bag kite. Before long, in the spirit of bigger and better things, two shopping bags are used for even more dynamic action. Wave this kite about and feel the drag as the bags burst full open with static air pressure. Or simply hold steady in the wind.
After many failed attempts to fly an on-sale Walmart box kite, our oldest son is eager to build one that really works. And after some examination, we discovered why the Walmart box kit design failed:
No Knots!
Well no wonder it didn’t work! How can you make a kite without learning the critical skill of knot tying? O.k., so there are other design issues with this kite. But really, no knots?! Come on!
So with the failure of this store-bought toy, we’ll be starting an entire series here at Knot4Fun’s Knot blog on handmade kites and knots!
When spending a night out of doors, the most important consideration is remaining dry while you sleep through the night. Except in high wind or heavy snow, you will be well served by setting up a lean-to shelter. Using any water repellent sheet or tarp, erect two corners 2-4 feet above the ground, and two corners near the ground. If the sheet is big enough, double up half the sheet as a floor. At the left is an illustration of a lean-to with a floor, which will add significantly to your comfort. The two knots that you will need to know for this project is the taut line hitch (rolling hitch) and a round turn and two half hitches.
At the right is an example of a lower corner of the shelter connected with a taut line hitch to a small sapling. After the hitch is tyed, the user can then tighten this cord. The other end of the cord will be tyed with around turn and two half hitches.
Two half hitches are fast to tye and easy to untye. It is one of those knots that are handy whenever you have no extra slack on the working side of the rope. The only thing more important than knowing this knot, and how to use it, is to actually have rope or twine available when you need it. Carry some with you at all times! It is amazing how useful seven feet of rope can be.
Some of the things from which you can make a shelter:
Shower curtain
Tarp Poncho
Sheet Raincoat
You never know when you might be stuck outdoors for the night and need to know how to erect one of these shelters. Go outside and try out this project.
Available storage space in our utility building.
