Day 196 - Playtime

 I have been looking forward to building a sweet nature play area in our backyard. Besides being a vital part of our potential future hosting nature play days and summer gatherings, it would be great to create something special for the kids in their own backyard. 

Up to this point, we had already added a climbing dome and experimented with a trail for the kids. We transferred a playset from the old house and were looking to expand with another one. The kids have added a stick shelter and enjoyed the growing rock pile as well. 

However, I felt the urge to add even more.

Because I had already worked in creating a nature play area at my school, I had a few ideas about what this area could look like. To make his vision come to life, I needed wood. While I had plenty of ash trees to work with, they were very young and not the best wood for what I envisioned. If I wanted bigger and more diversity in trees, I knew who to call. A family-owned tree service company who lived just a mile down the road had been integral to the construction of our school’s nature play area. I reached out to them and asked them for assistance.

I requested particular pieces of wood to use for some constructions. I also asked for wood chips to serve as a base layer for the entire area. In the past, they had honored other requests. They had already given us plenty of chips we used for our vegetable and butterfly gardens.

Our tree people were also on the lookout for unique and fun pieces to add to our backyard. Hopefully, we could add some large logs and some tree tables. Within a few days, much to the chagrin of my better half, a large pile of wood chips was added to the backyard. A few days after that, some large logs and more chips were added as well. The large pieces weren't exactly where I hoped they would be placed, but beggars can't be choosers.

Now that materials needed to get the play area started had arrived, it was time to work.