New Swing

When I lived in Iowa City on Court Street, I put up a single-rope swing with a round seat for the kids to play on. It hung from an American Chestnut tree in the back yard. I have old Super-8 home movies of Will, Rob, and Betsy swinging back and forth. They developed some daredevil methods involving jumping off the top of a picnic table and swinging far and high.

When we moved to the country, I brought that old swing with me, and it has been hanging in one of our Pin Oak trees for a long time. That round seat, made of pine or fir, lasted nearly 40 years. Recently, though, it finally cracked and broke. Also, the rope had gotten too tight on the limb of the tree and was constricting the bark, so I took it down.

Yesterday, I put up a new swing using two ropes this time and a traditional rectangular seat. The round-seat swing was always fun, but especially for the youngest grandkids, it was hard to keep from slipping off (it tilted), and the single rope wasn't as secure a handhold. For the new one, I used the thickest rope I could find at my local hardware store (3/4"), and I also put a nice round-over on every edge of the seat as well as thoroughly sanding the board. (Thanks to my friend David for the 2x6 scrap of wood. I didn't happen to have any of that available.)

Rob and his family came out last night to have dinner with us, to see how Kathie was coming along, and to look at some photos from our recent trip. I told Penny and Eleanor that there was something new in the back yard that I wanted them to test out for me to see if it worked properly. Eleanor ran out, came back, and excitedly said it was a new swing and that her Pop should get out there ASAP for a test drive. You will see the results below. Penny was first to try. I love the way her hair blew in the breeze. Pop always did go in for "the big swing." Eleanor liked this swing better than the old one. With a single rope, there was always a chance for swinging toward the tree trunk, and she had gotten a knee scrape one time when Pop attempted another "big swing." With two ropes, the swing tends to stay in a straight line. I expect the ropes will stretch a bit yet, and I may need to nudge the ropes a little closer to the trunk, as the branch tends to dip quite a lot when largish folks (i.e. Rob) try to use the swing. Overall, though, I think this was a success. Grandparents need lures for their grandkids.

Later, I fixed some nice steaks (and hot dogs!?), baked potatoes, broccoli, and cut-up fruit for dinner. You can't find evenings more enjoyable than ones like this! Sunshine, a swing, dinner, and the best kind of company.