Childhood is made up of fits and starts, things are started and a lot of them never see completion. 

The best example of this is how the boat would be moved around the play yard, propped up, jumped in and from, or rocked on. It served as a giant bowl of ice or water to be hacked out, scooped up or added to. So many uses, its story never finished. Until it was finished. Now gone. Goodbye cracked fiberglass and foam, so sorry to see you go. 

There are also the stones, buried beneath constantly moving earth, leaves, and wood chips. There is the mysterious sand pit -- where is its edge? How deep is it? These great discoveries are made each year and pursued with great vigor. Mostly THE answers are never found because the business of childhood is in the pursuit and it is the beauty of our play yard that it is filled with mystery and the unanswerable questions of children's play.

Last week, the children suddenly noticed the Eastern Red Cedar that was planted in 2008 by that year's Tracks class. It has been tiny for so long, planted there in the shade. This year it stands up strong on its trunk. Its tree-eye fixed firmly at eye level of a Tracks 2018-sized human. It announces, "Here I am!"

Once discovered, it needed to be decorated. The children found mushrooms, bits of painted paper, and string. They tried to hang cups and saucers, to perch plates, all to mixed effect, no matter. The things that fell transformed instantly upon hitting the ground into gifts. By day two, they were running out of bits and bobs. 

With all the dancing, decorating feet circling the cedar, things were suddenly revealed. Half-worms, new beetles, and roots. The worms and beetles were given homes, but the true treasure was a bamboo shoot.

It surely is the longest thing to ever exist on this planet. How to get it out because it must come out!

Enjoy!