DAY 292
01.21.08
TREE 121
I woke up this morning feeling much better. I got through the whole night without getting up. I took it really easy and had a very light, small, simple breakfast. Then I was on the computer wasting time when I thought, I feel better, I should go to the Mount to climb my tree. So I got all bundled and dressed and got in my truck. As soon as I got on the road I noticed something… my brain was not functioning normal. I was easily distracted, specifically by my own thoughts and imagination. I’d get lost in the images in my own head. This is not the best while driving so I put on good music and told myself to concentrate.
When I got to the Mount I talked to Ardis and Emily a little and dropped off Jim’s pottery images. Then I headed to the pottery studio to see Norm. He could definitely tell I was out of it. And as the day wore on I got more loopy. It got to the point where it felt almost as if I were drunk. I could focus on one thing while everything else in my periphery was a hazy fog. I would space out a lot. It almost became an interesting game to see how such little energy would affect me next.
Well, Norman got to throwing mugs so I got to climbing. I headed down to the lake to check on my body and , oh hey, the lake is frozen, cool! I played on it for a while. I tried to step on it, I broke holes in it, I cracked it, but by far the coolest thing was throwing broken chunks of ice across the surface. The sound it made as it skidded across was amazing and never dissipated in intensity no matter how far from me it traveled. I wanted to share this with some one but thought I’d wait till after my climb.
I headed into the woods to the spot where I knew the tree was. I struggled for a while to locate the tree but I finally did. I was going on memory of one limb and I was sure it was the one but I saw no ribbon at the top. I talked to my brother on the phone briefly then jumped up into the tree. I felt pretty good. Better than yesterday. And I remember from the first time some passages being quite difficult. Well, they weren’t too bad today. But towards the top, when they were just a scattered few small limbs, I paused. One little branch in particular looked dead and ready to go. The bark was beginning to peel at the base. This clue I’ve only learned since I started in tree service work. But despite this judgment, I used it and it held. A little shimmying and faith and I was at the top.
There was no ribbon, but there was a few notches in the bark. I saw it and it all came back. I had forgotten ribbon last time so I cut these as a marker.
I took out my camera and took pictures of the bare forest
and the small buildings of the Mount in the distance.
My slight movement caused quite a sway. I was a little nervous at first, then quickly I was purposely causing it to sway. I was really way up there, rejuvenated and focused.
It felt great.
Then after a few moments of taking this experience in I began to climb down. On those difficult passages I knew I could just skip the limbs and slide down the vertical branch like a pole. The down has become an easy and fun experience. And that limb I questioned on the way up… it broke under me. But I didn’t blink. Knowing its weakness I almost expected it. Before I started this shimmying business I would have freaked out if that had happened. But today, I just continued downward, no problem. All the way to the ground.
Then the drunken loss of focus returned, but worse. I can’t wait till I get my strength back.
1-27-09: Behind once again.
If you notice in the top picture with my face, you can see the notches I put in the bark.
The entry above has two things I had forgotten about till I reread my entry. The strange, drunk-like state of mind that I was in that day, and the sound from sliding ice chunks across the frozen lake. That was such a strange day, and I completely forgot to find someone to share the ice sound with after I finished climbing. I really want to go out and find a frozen lake and try that again.
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Last week Norman and I worked a job building a porch on an old house in New Castle, Kentucky. Since it was so far north up I-71, we stayed a few nights at my parents’ place. Our first night there was last Tuesday, the 20th of January. Norm and I rested out cold extremities and tired muscles in the hot tub. We had a nice home cooked meal and then I headed outside to climb a tree. I was not looking forward to it since I figured I was going to have to go a long way to find a tree. But, as often happens, I walked out in the front yard and this large three-trunked tree caught my eye.
I guess I had always figured this tree was too big or too hard to climb. That night, however, it seemed like just the tree for me. I chose the trunk closest to the house
and prepared myself for a long shimmy.
I went up and reached the lowest branch with relative ease.
Then from there it was a really great climb up to the top.
I didn’t have much light from the nearby houses so I took a lot with my flash.
But of the shots I took without, they turned out pretty neat.
Especially the ones of the house just across the street with the neat four-sectioned yard lamps.
I was pleasantly surprised to have found yet another great tree in my parents’ yard for me to climb. I finished shooting and then climbed back down. It was a very secure climb with all the healthy and strong limbs. I slid down the trunk to where the three trunks meet and then stepped back to the ground.
It felt good to have the climb out of the way so I could finally rest.
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