The Incredible Growth of the Water Oak Tree

It wasn't but a couple of years after we moved into our home in 2001 that we erected a zip line in the back yard for the kids.  The picture below shows the zip line from the bottom looking up toward the top.  You can see the handle hanging from a pulley on the cable.  When we originally built it, there was a tree house at the top that you catapulted yourself out of.  The neighbor kids still come over and ride it.  It has provided many smiles over the years.  You can read the First post about the zip line by clicking that underlined hyperlink.

The brace that supports the bottom of the zip line is a piece of steel tubing that was once part of a John Deere Vibra Shank - a farm implement that was in the scrap iron pile and was re-purposed from a work function to one of recreation.

That piece of steel tubing was nailed into a landscape timber with 6 inch nails.  It was anchored into the tree pretty good as it needed to be to support the weight of those children (and adults) who ventured to zip down the zip line.  Over the years the water oak tree has almost completely grown over the landscape timber, only leaving a small portion that it hasn't completely devoured!  It is now working on enveloping the steel tubing.

Here is a little closer look.  I guess this should serve as motivation to us all to keep moving or life will pass you by or grow over you!  It always interests me to see how trees have grown over fences, benches, signs, etc.

Here is a different angle looking at it from the front that shows the portion of landscape timber that hasn't been eaten by the tree.

While one side is anchored to a living water oak tree, the other side is bolted into a portion of an old telephone pole.

Although the kids that once rode the zip line have mostly grown up, the portion of the zip line that remains that hasn't been 'eaten' by the water oak tree stands as a testimony of the fun and joy of childhood and a reminder that time marches on.