My kids have been wanting a swing in the back yard/woods for a while, but where we live, the only weight bearing trees are mature trees growing straight up - no horizontal branches anywhere.



The best one I could find was a large branch about 40 feet up on a huge beech tree over the small creek in back of our house. So I got a long rope and a 4x4 piece of wood with a hole drilled in the middle, and decided to make a swing.





The biggest problem was getting the rope over the branch. The rope was too heavy for me to throw that far up, so I tied a rock on string and tied the string to the rope. However, each time I threw the rock, it seemed to fall just short. I was getting frustrated, so I got my daughter's bow & arrow and tied the string to that. It only took one shot to get the arrow & string over the branch- it was like magic. My 15 year old son and I tied the rope and tested the line. It held our weight, but the swing would go over the creek - a lot of fun, but what if they got caught in the middle and couldn't swing back. I decided to have the rope continue through the seat and back to the tree, allowing a safety line.





It's been a big success! The kids love it, and my son has gone on it hundreds of times. It's been a great way to get the kids to spend more time in the woods.