I’m not sure which will come first: me winning the lottery or me having grandchildren. Should the latter ever happen, though, I’m going to build a fort in the branches of the tree you see above.

As long as I’ve been rambling about Roundrock, I had never seen this tree until my recent solo trip there a couple of weeks ago. When #1 Son Seth was a little guy, Libby pointed out a weeping willow tree to him, and he said it would make a great “hideout tree.” I’ve been on the look out for a good tree house tree ever since, but most of my forest is under 30 years old, and none of those trees are big enuf yet. There are a number of old timers, but their branches are commonly far too high off the ground. Or, like a number of of the big black oaks on the north-facing slope, they’re of an age when it’s time for the winter weather to start bringing them down. (And it has.)

This tree, though, is ideal. It branches nicely about ten feet off the ground (though it is a little hard to tell in this photo), and with a little creative architecture, I think I can put together a respectable tree fort. Even the lean of the trunk will allow for easy climbing into the tree.

During one of those idyllic boyhood summers I spent in rural Kentucky, my grandfather built a tree fort, and if I remember correctly, my older brother and I actually spent a whole night in it. It sure would be nice to give some children a few idyllic summers spent in rural Missouri some day.

The is a white oak (I think), and it is on the north-facing slope not too far up the hill from the dam. You can see a bit of blue lake there at about 9:00. It would be just far enuf away from the house to give a sense of adventure.

Missouri calendar:

The Missouri Natural Events Calendar is blank for today. Posted by: Roundrockjournal    Source

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