# The good ole days-Swinging on a birch tree



## Fsappo (Jan 23, 2015)

Was in the woods with my son a few weeks back, showing him how to use birch bark for a variety of things, like paper, emergency roofing, firestarters, etc.  Then I had a flash back that led to a clearer memory of what us kids called "swinging a birch"

I'll describe it and see if anyone else here has ever done it.  Us kids were 9-12ish and probably weighed 80-120lbs at the time, so warning, this may not work as swell for a 300lb logger:


we would walk thru our property up in the Adirondacks and fine one of the few groves of white birch.  We would select a tree that was strong enough to support a kid climbing just about to the top, but thin enough to bend.  This was always summer after an attempt in winter ended badly.  This trees rarely had climbable limbs near the ground, so a boost from another kid to start, and the rest was shimmy up the trunk.

I recall these trees having about an 8" diameter at the base.  May have appeared bigger because we were smaller.  We would climb up and up until you could fee the tree start to sway.  Maybe about 15' or so off the ground.  I hope it wasn't more than that.

You would then rock back and forth, the tree swinging to and fro more and more each swing until slooowly, the tree would bend all the way over and lower you down to the ground.  We would hop off and watch in wonder as the tree straightened itself out.  Then, not wanting the hurt the tree, we would move on to the next. 

Was quite a feeling. 

Anyone else try or hear of that?


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## Jags (Jan 23, 2015)

Just one question: was your great grand father bipedal yet?


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## bubbasdad (Jan 23, 2015)

Jags said:


> Just one question: was your great grand father bipedal yet?


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## Ncountry (Jan 23, 2015)

Yes sir, that brings back memories. Growing up in the country with little means, trees provide unlimited entertainment. We had  a fence line leading from the barnyard that stretched for 200 yds. One of the challenges was to see how far you could make it before touching the ground. Picture little squirrel kids ,lol, jumping and swinging from tree to tree . there was always the same gap that would stump us . 
We had a small red pine plantation just down the rd. with ~20'  trees. We would race to see who could make it to the top and back down the quickest.  It was during one of these races when the top broke out of my tree.  I hit the ground rather gently ,Fall broken by all the small limbs on the way down, with the top still in my hands. This led to a whole new sport ... tree jumping... Believe it or not, none of us ever got more than scratched up with a few bumps and bruises when you hit the ground...Yikes! guess we are lucky to be alive..  Only serious childhood injury involved... standing on a fencepost on one foot and saying look at me...


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## Pellet_Pete (Jan 24, 2015)

No personal experience swinging birches, but it does recall a fine Robert Frost poem.

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173524


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## Fsappo (Jan 26, 2015)

Pellet_Pete said:


> No personal experience swinging birches, but it does recall a fine Robert Frost poem.
> 
> http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/173524



What an excellent poem!   It is so nice to see that someone enjoyed the experiences that I had..so much that they put it to paper.

And the going from tree to tree without hitting the ground (was a shark filled ocean or lava of course) was another great was to spend a day.


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