Give a Kid Some Tools… A Tree Fort is Born

Our neighbors 16 year old son (we’ll call him ‘T’ for short) has always been very industrious.  He is a self starter who appears to have the instinctive need to create.  I often refer to this as our inner caveman that creates the desire for many of us to swing a hammer, paint, landscape, woodwork, etc.

T took up bow hunting and ventured into the woods behind our houses earlier this year. He was looking to build his own tree stand and things grew from there. As it happens, there is a construction site nearby.  An extension of our subdivision is going in and there is always an abundance of discarded building material.  It is usually the cut off end of a 2×6, a split piece of lumber, scrap plywood, etc.  T gathered some of this material from the scrap heap and found a grouping of trees that he could use to nail a board into.  It began with a simple seat placed high up in a tree.  After that, the material available was able to span from tree to tree and a platform was built.

I love to see the initiative.  I am sure he will be building things for the rest of his life.  Not a contractor, but not someone who is afraid to pick up a tool and build.

Take a look at this awesome tree fort.  The upper platform is 10′ up.