Child's play.

Well thankfully, the early morning was rain-free, and I had just completed my five-mile round trip when it started to drizzle.

This morning’s journey took me down to the River. While that particular trek is not so much of a nature walk, it is a good five-mile trip and a chance to walk through three cities in one fell swoop: Lincoln Park, Wyandotte and Ecorse. The trip through Wyandotte is probably the longest leg of the trip, because once I’m down at Biddle Avenue, it is just a hop, step and a jump to the Ecorse city limits and the Water’s Edge Marina.

Just like the last time I was there, the rowing club members were congregating around their rig, and some were sipping hot beverages as I could see the steam rising from the cup. It was a little nippy at the marina and there was even a chill in the air. There was a man in an extra-wide paddleboat skimming silently over the still water. I paused at the bridge over the most-scenic part of the marina, but there were no events that I had not already captured on my last visit, so I kept the camera tucked inside its case. I stayed a short time, then headed off on my 2 ½ mile trek home.

Both coming and going, I checked to see if anyone was outside the home with the big tree house, but all was quiet. I tilted my head up to the sky to see if I could see any more progress since my last visit, but it was status quo, probably due to all the rain we’ve had so Dad couldn’t work on it much in his spare time.

You might recall that I stopped and chatted with the homeowners a few weeks ago and they told me all that remained to finish up the tree house was putting in electricity. I marveled at that statement, but, in retrospect, I shouldn’t have been surprised since that tree house is a work of art. If you look at my blog post, “Woodn’t it be nice?” from August 10th last year, http://lindaschaubblog.net/2014/08/10/woodnt-it-be-nice you’ll see just what a masterpiece the tree house has become. Check out the front porch.

This year, Dad has added a real spiffy back entrance and a sign that says “Welcome to our Tree House” … there will be no shimmying up the tree or using the largest branches as a foothold for those who wish to escape and get away from it all. Nope, they’ll simply tell their parents “see ya later” and walk up the stairs using the railing for good measure. And, those youngsters will not be tucked away from the rest of the world and not know what’s happenin’ on the street, because there are windows to look out of. I must ask the homeowners if Wi-Fi and a big-screen TV will be included as well.

Several years ago I wrote a post about this Dad after he hung up a rope swing with a cherry-red wooden seat from the big tree out front. I would have given anything to have a rope swing to while away the hours when I was a kid, but … first, we didn’t have a tree, and second, my skid marks on the grass would not have gone over well with my father who prided himself on his perfect lawn.

So, kudos to this dad for catering to his kids and making this house a home away from home, er “Tree House, Sweet Tree House”.

You can catch up on my blog posts before I started blogging at Patch in August 2013 by going here: http://lindaschaubblog.net/