November 2009 – Week 4

DAY 963 11.22.09 – Denny’s in the morning with the whole family.

Mitchell started to run around under the table.

After breakfast at Denny’s I climbed one of my sister’s Oaks in her front yard. I have also eyed these in previous visits and never tried but felt it would be difficult. But I found some little finger holds, jumped and found my way up. I avoided the power lines, discovered the tree had been cabled and took pictures as the family watched from below.

Mitchell got a kick out of it.

Hung out with Jason before I left with my parents to head back to KY.

DAY 964 11.23.09 – Started painting a mural for Drew’s mom at his Aunt’s house. That evening I climbed a smallish tree in the median of the Sycamore Clifton Street intersection.

DAY 965 11.24.09 -Finished the mural and went to Seneca to climb.

I told JoD (Drew’s mom) it was pretty serendipitous that her son’s friend is an artist who knows trees and has mural painting experience.

In the concrete of the basement leading to the back door, there are tiny cat paw impressions. So JoD wanted a little kitten silhouette next to the door at the end of the paw trail.

Climbed this massive sprawling Oak. I went all over that beast selecting which major leader limb to go up to the top.

I felt like I monkey. I really am getting more and more comfortable even now after all this time. This climb showed me that I am still improving. Movements that I once thought were difficult or scary are now routine and easy. I took pictures at the top and tried to get the sunset but just missed seeing the sun go down.

The park looked pretty still.

Then I shoved my camera back in my side pocket with my phone. I made sure to shove it pretty good so it wouldn’t fall out. Then I climbed down feeling really good still about my mobility and fluid motion. Then at a low limb I looked down on the ground and spotted my camera in its orange case. I was alarmed as I didn’t remember feeling it come out of my pocket. I crawled out the limb and dropped to the ground. I picked up my camera and took it out. It was damaged!! I walked over to some bleachers and inspected it. It still worked but the buttons at the top had sunk in and stuck within. I repositioned one button and got the camera a little more together but the on/off button was lost within. Luckily I can turn it on with the PLAY button and it shuts off automatically after a few minutes. So really it is completely functional (thank god) and only some cosmetic damage. Still disappointing, but I didn’t let it get to me too bad since the climb felt so good and the camera still worked.

I have since fixed my camera so that the on/off button is back where it should be. Besides a little cosmetic damage, it works just like new. Whew!

DAY 966 11.25.09 – Tree at Wilder Elementary while waiting for people to show up for flag football. Charlotte, Drew, Rachel, Garett, Krisjans, and me.

Team Butterscotch, Drew, Rachel and I, lost to the other unnamed team. But we played valiantly.

DAY 967 11.26.09 -Thanksgiving 2009. At my parents’ place with just the three of us. Good food but a little uneventful. Played some Dr. Mario on the original Nintendo with my mom and some 8-ball with my dad on the pool table after dinner. Then I went out front and climbed a young Maple. I had climbed it before but wasn’t much in the mood to find a new tree. I got to the top and felt better.

Just had a little grey cloud around me that day. The climb helped but not completely.

DAY 968 11.27.09 – Went to Zephyr Gallery to get my prints from the show off the inventory and leave a little farewell note for the members. A good-bye-for-now of sorts. I checked my mail slot and found I had received a letter from the professor who brought her IUS class to hear me talk about my work. She thanked me and shared with me the students’ blog entries about the talk. I went to Cherokee Park and Dog Hill and climbed the Cherokee Park: Playground tree and ate an apple and read the responses.

I didn’t get through them all because I threw my apple core to the trashcan and it bounced off the top. So I scrambled down and put the core in the can. Then I climbed back up but just went as high as I could and took pictures.

I finished the letter later that day.

DAY 969 11.28.09 – Parkour at Cherokee Park today. I crawled up a fallen trunk near the parking lot off Lexington Road. At the top I dropped down onto a small Hackberry and slid down to the ground.

I guess I should clarify and say it is fallen but leaning.

Then ran to Dog Hill and rolled down the hill. Half way froward then the rest of the way down backward. I was dizzy, layed breathing hard, then crawled on all fours back to the top. Then we went and climbed the playground tree again. Nikki, Jeremy, and Brandon all climbed the tree. Then we went over to another familiar Beech to climb and do some underbars. 10 year high school reunion that night. Strange.

Preparty at Drew’s

DAY 970 11.29.09 – Went to brunch with Drew, Mike, and Rachel. After North End I did some shopping with Rachel. After driving all the way over to Unique and seeing that it was closed we drove some back roads near the river and stopped so I could climb. Rachel took pictures of me after failed to follow up into the tree after me. It was kind of a difficult entry.

I went up through the limbs and saw two old birds nests. It was a good tree and I took a few shots myself with my phone.

DAY 971 11.30.09 – Hung out with Rachel in the morning and Charlotte in the afternoon. After leaving Charlotte’s I went to Kammerer Middle School and climbed a Maple I have climbed a couple times before near the Ballard baseball field.

The sun was setting and pretty.