This tree and I were friends for years. I discovered shortly after we moved into the house nearby that this is a stellar climbing tree. It is an Elm tree, the last one in the neighbourhood to survive free of Dutch Elm Disease. It has clearly always been in good health, as its growth is regular and freely branching. The trunk forks every three feet or so, providing crook after crook to plant a foot in. If you manage to plan it right you can just climb up as if it were a rather odd-shaped ladder.As a kid I used to climb up about 15 or 20 feet, then perch on a branch to survey the neighbourhood. In those days the neighbourhood mostly consisted of bush. There were a few houses, 2 or 3 that I could see from the tree, and lots of trees in all directions. My perch in the elm gave me a good view of woodpeckers, robins, warblers, nuthatches, chickadees, kinglets, and geese in the spring and the fall. A totally different perspective on the busy community of life around me. There wasn't usually much noise of people in the neighbourhood in those days, but the birds and the squirrels kept up a steady racket.
The neighbourhood is a little close in to the city, and over the years it gradually filled in. Most of the large lots have been subdivided and more houses built. Most of them have kept the large trees around the lot, but it's not the same uninterrupted forest of scrub oak that it used to be. This picture was taken on my last climb up the climbing elm. My parents had sold the house and were about to move out. I took one last climb to thank the tree for all the summer afternoons I spent held securely in its strong branches.
I think the elm is still there. I wonder if anyone else has discovered what a good climbing tree it is?
