I don;t normally climb trees


no... I do not normally climb trees
but today after school I did

wanted to take my dog and my visiting dog Max to the park for a little romp
did not feel like looping in the woods
thought I would let the dogs play with some other dogs
thought I would give Grant a break from hiking after school and an offer to do something different

so... I brought the dogs with me to pick up young Grant from school
it was Friday... we had no formal plan
all I knew was that the dogs needed to be walked and my son needed to be picked up from school

so... I dragged Grant to Rosedale
Rosedale is a dog park... I think it is a coop
but... I feel that my 3-5 visits a year do not necessitate a contribution
and really
I think it is nice for them to be accepting for people to sample and experience their little dog park world without having to pay a fee


well... I tried to get Grant to have one of his friends to join us or meet us
but they had plans
and well... as fun as dad may think he is
dad is dad
cool for a dad... but still pretty lame

Grant objected to the Rosedale visit
but sadly for Grant... he had no choice
he was not asked... he was told
we were going to Rosedale

I promised it would be short
telling him to give the dogs ten minutes off leash
he could use his watch
not telling me when it is time to go
but telling me when ten minutes had passed


there was some grumbling
there is often grumbling

I kept the course
it was only a slight deviation from Grant's school to where I parked the car

on the way I told Grant I was going to climb the tree
that same tree that Grant climbs on each of our visits to this park



I was curious of the view
I wanted to see what he sees when he gets high up in this tree

I but had not considered the complexity of the task
honestly... it is the real deal
the tree is tall
and well... there is no safety harness
we would be doing this without helmets and without a safety mat at the base of the tree

the task demands focus and control
caution and care
and then a minimal amount of strength and coordination
that is what it is to climb a tree


as you know... I am no spring chicken
my old and tired bones creaked as I climbed... or maybe it was the branches flexing under my girth
my actions were deliberate
I tested branches before I committed to them

it was a bit of a rush to climb the tree... I did not make it to the top
but I got pretty high up the tree
stalled as the branches got a little more dense

so....  high in the tree I tried to snap a shot of the National Cathedral in the distance


Grant snapped a photo of me and I snapped a shot of him
my time in the tree was short
the dogs were on the ground
while I was in the tree

although my dogs were fine
there was a dog that lives on a house that is adjacent to the property
and that dog... well... that dog was a barking machine
so... I climbed up and climbed down


Grant climbed up after me... passing me as I climbed down
Grant went higher and climbed for a few minutes longer

back on the ground I kissed the earth
okay... I did not kiss the earth
but I did call the dogs to make sure they were in control
then glanced at my watch... we had exceeded the 10 minute promise
I let Grant climb down at his own rate then told him I was ready to leave

time well spent
I should climb trees more often

after climbing the trees and walking the dog we exited the park on the other side of the park exploring its connection to the neighborhood
then drove over to the grocery store to get some food for the weekend