My Treefort and Dutchess the Horse

This picture instantly brought back memories of my tree fort. It was not a pre-fabricated playhouse or a parent-supervised construction project. It was me and a hammer and found wood pieces in the crotch of a large stand of trees in my backyard. To me, it looked like this picture here. It was my fantasy fort. Resplendent, but durable. What it lacked in structure, I made up for in imagination and embellishment.

I was probably age eight when I started building my fort. We were having an addition built on our home in Brookfield, CT and I pilfered nails and wood that were cast off from the big project. I built the first two floors first. The tree fort never got higher then two stories, but I always described it as a five-story fort. There was a "basement" which was created when the first floor went in and served as the dog kennel. There was a three foot by three foot first floor and a tiny second floor, which you accessed through the traditional "hatch-in-the-floor." On which one person could sit Indian-style (can I be politically correct and say that?). If two people were on the "third floor," they really could only stand hugging each other.

These were the original three floors. Then came a side house that was impressive with a window and a roof - this was known as story number four. Then its roof, story number five, served as a roof deck. Attached to the tree and to a big old stump, was a one by five piece of trim. It was probably five feet long or so. When resting on two ledges as it was, it served as a bouncy horse. I would pretend to be chased and mount my "horse," Dutchess as fast as I could and gallop off. Dutchess was a good friend. I made her a saddle and reins. Sure, I pinched my finger a few times, but some horses are peevish.

I still remember how my imagination made that treefort look. In my mind's eye, it is a culmination of childhood dreams and visions. If I looked at a picture of it today, it would no doubt look like the "eyesore" my father always saw when he looked at it. I am glad I never saw it through adult eyes. And so, it remains a palace!