We have found a new way of clearing up the fallen apples under our fruit tree.
Since the tree is also host to the children's swings, they have to clear them up first to prevent treading on squashed apples.
It has saved a great deal of time and effort on my part.
We have devised a variety of swings, spins and roundabouts which hang from the tree.
Not all at once of course and I prefer to limit the games to the gentler variety to prevent too many apples falling off before they are ready to eat.
We needed some ingenuity to get the activities working properly.
Swings in particular need a horizontal branch to hang from if they are to swing straight.
One method we used was to hang it far enough out from the trunk so that the branch sagged to the point where the part holding the swing was horizontal.
This meant that it was weaker so that there was a danger of it snapping.
A rope to a higher branch, or further up the trunk, solved that problem by providing the support needed.
One of the restrictions that I found necessary was to limit the degree of swing to a safe amount.
One method was to tie a rope from the bottom of the swing to a stake in the ground so that it tightened before the swing had risen too far.
This only lasted a short time because the jerk eventually pulled the stake out of the ground.
The next method was to use the elasticized shock cord they use on yachts.
This produced an interesting motion because the cord pulled the swing back from its high position faster than usual and of course limited the height of the swing at the same time.
If the branches are too stiff to be pulled lower to a to a horizontal position then an alternative was to use two adjacent branches of about the same height.
The swing could be hung from each branch where they were the same level.
This meant that the boys would swing towards the trunk and hit it if they went too high.
It proved an effective method of limiting the height of the swing to a safe level.
It was better if they faced the trunk so that they could see it coming.
Swings were not the only thing we could hang from the tree.
We made a rope ladder from the cuttings we kept from the spruce tree.
They were about one inch in diameter and eight inches long.
The boys seem to like the ladder more than the girls.
It is not to get the apples either.
If anything it is the girls who would use the ladder to reach them.
Maybe they think there should be a purpose in climbing.
The boys seem to do it for the adventure alone.
Personally I agree with the girls these days.
The time when I climbed trees for the fun of it are long past.
Since the tree is also host to the children's swings, they have to clear them up first to prevent treading on squashed apples.
It has saved a great deal of time and effort on my part.
We have devised a variety of swings, spins and roundabouts which hang from the tree.
Not all at once of course and I prefer to limit the games to the gentler variety to prevent too many apples falling off before they are ready to eat.
We needed some ingenuity to get the activities working properly.
Swings in particular need a horizontal branch to hang from if they are to swing straight.
One method we used was to hang it far enough out from the trunk so that the branch sagged to the point where the part holding the swing was horizontal.
This meant that it was weaker so that there was a danger of it snapping.
A rope to a higher branch, or further up the trunk, solved that problem by providing the support needed.
One of the restrictions that I found necessary was to limit the degree of swing to a safe amount.
One method was to tie a rope from the bottom of the swing to a stake in the ground so that it tightened before the swing had risen too far.
This only lasted a short time because the jerk eventually pulled the stake out of the ground.
The next method was to use the elasticized shock cord they use on yachts.
This produced an interesting motion because the cord pulled the swing back from its high position faster than usual and of course limited the height of the swing at the same time.
If the branches are too stiff to be pulled lower to a to a horizontal position then an alternative was to use two adjacent branches of about the same height.
The swing could be hung from each branch where they were the same level.
This meant that the boys would swing towards the trunk and hit it if they went too high.
It proved an effective method of limiting the height of the swing to a safe level.
It was better if they faced the trunk so that they could see it coming.
Swings were not the only thing we could hang from the tree.
We made a rope ladder from the cuttings we kept from the spruce tree.
They were about one inch in diameter and eight inches long.
The boys seem to like the ladder more than the girls.
It is not to get the apples either.
If anything it is the girls who would use the ladder to reach them.
Maybe they think there should be a purpose in climbing.
The boys seem to do it for the adventure alone.
Personally I agree with the girls these days.
The time when I climbed trees for the fun of it are long past.