Tree Play (There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly)

It was birthday time for the Rellim Triplets.  No less than 11 cousins and 12 adults arrived for the festivities which included a bonfire, hay rack ride, mulch-pile climbing (king-of-the-mountain style!), biking, farm animal chasing, eating (of course), and a fun game called "ladders."  To play ladders, a person throws a pair of weighted plastic balls that are joined by a cord, toward a four rung ladder.  Points are awarded based on whether or not the balls catch on a rung and dependent upon which rung is caught.

Before long, one pair of balls is noted 30 feet up, tangled in the branches of a nearby weeping willow tree.  "No problem," said our Mr. Rellim, who then proceeded to toss a basketball  toward the stuck pair.  Unfortunately, the basketball toss only succeeded in knocking the balls to a branch 50 feet up in the air.

Mr. Rellim then started using a javelin-like technique with a large push broom to dislodge the balls.  Three throws later, the push broom was resting amongst the dense branch foliage.

Not to be discouraged, the basketball toss was re-employed to knock out the push broom.  Cousins scattered as small, dry branches started raining down - followed by the push broom.  The push broom handle then exploded upon impact with the ground.  But Rellim men (even the younger ones), know how to use their duct tape.  Voila!  New push broom handle.

Yet still, the balls dangled.  Repeated basketball tosses succeeded only in spraying the play area with more tree debris before ultimately entangling the basketball itself in the uppermost branches of the weeping willow.

But these are FARM BOYS!  Bring on the challenge!  With no more basketballs to toss and knowing better than to risk complete obliteration of the newly-repaired push broom, a new tool was found.  It was spotted near the bonfire.  It was a large rake - minus the rake.  (Well, minus most of the rake.  There was still some rusted metal head-of-the-rake parts screwed on the end.)

Warnings were shouted.  Cousins were cleared from the area.  Javelin-tossing ensued.  Pair of balls were rescued.  Rust-tipped rake handle weapon, however, remains in the tree, awaiting a strong wind.

I don't know why she swallowed the fly.