Like you, I have always been a tree climber but haven't climbed one in a while - the mind is willing but the body... I do love trees too - you may have seen a recent post in which Sonseearae described her safe place - a huge tree guards the space.

And while we're on the whole tree subject, here's a little tidbit you might find interesting. I am going to build my family a home and should be breaking ground within two years. It starts with a traditional native American home design called a semi-subterranean pit house. Here's a pic:

Gosh, hoped that worked... anyway, if it didn't then I'll be back to fix it.

Our family home will be significantly larger (nearly 2000 square feet) as well as heavily modified. The dimensions are a fifty foot diameter with a 28 degree slope on the roof. The round walls will be eight feet high but with a twenty-five foot radius the center will be twenty-two feet high. This will allow for a twelve foot diameter central, circular loft with plenty of headroom. But here's the reason I was telling you all of this:

I'm building a second floor under the first with a winding staircase that hugs the round walls - but downstairs will be a different world. I have a degree in physics and optics is a specialty. I'm using modified fiber optic cable to light the downstairs. There are three different types of fiber optic cable and one of them transmits blue light (which is necessary for growing plant life) with no degradation in the signal. I am going to flood the downstairs with natural sunlight via the fiber optics and build a garden inside - fourteen feet below the surface. Grass, flowers, a pond, and yes, trees...dogwoods and other flowering and pretty trees that won't exceed (particularly with pruning techniques) the eight foot ceiling.

Do you have a favorite constellation?