DAY 259
12.19.07
TREE 184
My crew and I went to Bernheim Forest to remove a large elm today. Then I went home tired again. It’s getting harder and harder to motivate myself to climb with the little daylight that remains after work. Usually after dinner, though, my energy revives. I had a gift I wanted to give to Leigh Ann so I gave her a call to see what she was up to this evening. She just so happened to be eating dinner with Will. So I called Julio to see if he wanted to come to Will’s. He did, so I picked him up. Not wanting to be late to his place I put off climbing some more. We got to Will’s and we hung out. Both Leigh Ann and I had to get to bed early so the night didn’t last long. We said our good-bye’s and I decided I would just climb a tree at Wilder Elementary School after I dropped off Julio. I parked at his mom’s house and told him I was going to climb a tree. He came along with me which was nice. There are trees that line the front of the building that are really big. I really wanted to climb one of them but the usual methods of shimmying, monkeying, etc. were not possible. So we walked around back. A few months ago I was out here with Charlotte and I climbed a bunch of these trees. I picked one that I did not climb that night. I wanted a new experience. The tree I chose is right next to the building.
It was easy to get in and a fast climb up. Lots of strong limbs to maneuver around. The trunk split into two main leaders and I transferred up high to get to the one that is tallest.
Julio paced below me and talked on the phone a little. I made it up pretty high, almost to the top, and tied my ribbon.
My position was fixed and the way my feet were wedged I couldn’t turn very easily. I tried to take pictures but it was windy and I couldn’t find a good limb to steady my hands.
Most of my pictures turned out blurry.
I could tell Julio was getting cold and I didn’t want to be out too late so I began my climb down. It went quickly and I made sure this time to put my camera in my coat pocket which zips up. We walked back to his house and I left for home. The climb today felt like something I had to get out of the way. It wasn’t too challenging and the view wasn’t very good. It wasn’t a bad climb but it wasn’t anything special. At least it was nice to share it with a friend.
12-19-08: I believe the gift I needed to give to Leigh Ann was a picture of us from a high school homecoming. We went to a couple of those together, but this was a formal one and we got our picture taken. I was going through some old stuff and found them. I wrote some ridiculous note on the back and bad hand writing and gave it to her. She got a kick out of it.
I wonder if Julio has been reading my blog? I am sure he’d be glad to see he’s made it in two days in a row… with pictures too.
Last night I kept putting climbing off. I spent most of the day catching up on this here blog then went to the BBC for some drinks with Drew, Norm, Dave, and Rachel. Then we left there and went straight to MaryLiz’s for movie night. We hung out for a while, ordered a pizza, then watched Ong-Bak.
Some kung fu movie whose craziest and most frequent move was a hit on the top of the head.
It was awesome and hilarious. But I kept looking at the time watching the day slip by. I decided that no matter where I was in the movie, once it hit 11pm I was out to climb. The movie was just about to end and I got up, grabbed my coat and bolted. I ran down Roy Wilkins Drive to a Sycamore just off Main Street at the I-64 on ramp.
It was a small and easy tree to climb. I was at the top in a matter of seconds and whipped out my camera and shot like crazy.
The branches I was on were thin and moved easily under my weight making it hard to take good shots.
I would have to sit still and wait for the movement to stop, then shoot. But sometimes the wind would kick up or I would have to subtly adjust my balance and it would make me move. Any shot looking down turned out well since there was a big street lamp in the branches.
I managed to get some good shots of downtown
and the highway nearby.
Norm called half way through my shoot to ask where the hell I went. Turns out, just after the movie ended there was a mass exodus from the party. I apologized for not saying anything and told him I’d see him tomorrow. Then I finished taking my last few shots and climbed back down.
It was a fun climb even though it was a short tree. It was very maneuverable and fun to move around in. I ran back to MaryLiz’s and then Drew and I went home. I was a little stressed all day about the climb, but I got it done and it all worked out okay.