The clay colored water indicates that the pond was excavated within the last few months. Perhaps the bottom now has a thick, squishy layer of mud that causes #eudaimonia when squeezed between toes of lucky guests. It's certain the local wildlife will enjoy the swimming hole even more than any humans invited to "drop in." A large number of mammals will soon be making nightly visits & an amazing number of birds will swoop in daily even w/o any birdbaths. It's hoped that fireflies & amphibians quickly move in once all the clay has settled out.
It's assumed that the owner added some beehives elsewhere on the property many months, if not years ago. It's hoped that several small wildlife ponds were added around the parcel that are filled by rainfall runoff to attract and sustain the natural fauna. Let's hope there are wildlife cams to capture animal activities throughout KPL.
Tigers are doubtful but mountain lions & bears will likely appearance at the swimming hole if another pond isn't located in the back lot near the house of sticks. Any future livestock & aquaculture will likely require protection.
It's hoped that the #GreatWall of kitchen cabinetry has been removed from the Shelves area of the STEM library to accomodate even more student guests. One other improvement that could probably be implemented before the KPL Public Benefit Corporation officially opens wb the addition of a slide/chute along the N side of the 200m driveway that descends 20m from the hilltop Heptagon. It cb assembled quickly from the reused pieces of closed water parks. It's expected that many adult visitors would also choose to toboggan down the tube.
There's probably no cheaper recreational activity that can produce as much elation & excitement as swinging out over some water and trying to tiptoe across the (lava)surface on the backswing. Jumping in by letting go at the peak height of the swing to create a humongous splash is a real close 2nd. One sure way for young males to make the experience even more enjoyable is to beat their chests like silverbacks while they shout like Tarzan just before they fly for a few seconds above the welcoming unavoidable below.
The backyard neighbors introduced me to the fun. They repurposed their young sister's swing that hung from a high branch of the tree in the middle their back yard. We'd swing around like human tetherballs sometimes rapidly wrapping around the trunk. The older boys soon moved their rugged picnic table so we could launch from a position a little higher & farther away w/o having to run & pull the rope to get airborne. We could stand almost 4ft above the ground at just about their sister's height when the older boys decided to put the seating benches next to each other on the tabletop. Luckily the older boys thought it imprudent to use them stacked.
It being the era of #Jarts, all the parents were aware and kopastetic with our playing where they could easily check up on us, but they rarely did. Our dad's figured out the way we were playing and told us to be careful.
Eventually the oldest brother asked about using the roof of the little garden shed my dad had built near the property line to store the lawnmower, tools & supplies. He built it back near the property line from sheets of plywood and 2x4s like the projects featured in his #PopularScience magazine. It was about 6ft tall so he didn't have to stoop over and 6ft wide so our bikes could be secured in there too when we were not home.
Dad had built it sturdy & strong enough for the roof to easily support me and my best friend simultaneously. His big brother helped us climb on top and offered to catch us when we tried to maximize our flying time at the end of the arc. My friend had the honor of going first since it was their swing. His other bro went after me and then it took all three of us to boost his oldest bro who was very large for his age. We soon got tired of boosting after a few days, so the boys moved the picnic table near the shed so we could climb onto the roof w/o assistance.
We got too brazen and didn't stop when our dads got home from work so their dad soon saw how the tree branch bent under the weight of his oldest boy. He shut us down & had them put their sister's swing back the way it was before warning his boys of consequences if they got caught again. My desire to swing over water was finally doused years later when brief friendships with other older boys were made while attending Jr Hi.
The community brook which crossed under the RR tracks bordered over a half mile of the town country club near its' entrance and another half mile less than 200 ft. N of the street at the end of the block I lived on. 8th grade boys hung some ropes at various places over it every Spring & Fall as they probably had for years before. The hardest part was finding a good location out of the way so the CC didn't call the police to stop all the fun.
Swinging over the brook where it narrowed to barely more than half dozen ft rarely attracted more than a few boys at a time. It got boring after a couple dozen brief swings and was hardly worth waiting to take a turn.
Bike riding across the brook on a narrow damp plank to use the shortcut across the CC was more exciting.
Many days I sped across the country club and that tiny little bridge an extra 2 times to rush home at lunch.
The older, experienced boys searched for a big tree with branches that extended to the CC side of the brook. They'd find the widest, isolated section where the current slowed to a crawl to better simulate slow-moving lava. A few of the bolder, not brighter brigade would climb out, about a dozen ft over the middle, to hang a couple of strong ropes for use as Tarzan vines before dropping into water below. A short runway along the bank enabled us to gain extra speed to make the swing last longer or go higher as we launched ourselves over the water/lava.
Usually a half dozen boys would show up after school to wait for their turn to swing for a timed minute. When more boys stopped by on their way home, we'd cut the number of swings to 3. Most lost interest after a week. Weekends were unpredictable because HS kids would sometimes show up & often chase the rest of us away. I preferred big circle swings that would carry me far enough to touch my feet on part of the forbidden CC bank.
Don't recall having fun like that anywhere else during HS, college or summer recess, except for skiing #Bavaria.
I sought to find a hanging chair soon after arrival in LA, but was unable to ever find one that could handle 250#. The last time I swung like Tarzan was decades ago at a lakeside resort with my dad & brothers. A long rope was attached to the top of a lone tall tree at lakeside's edge. We'd pull the rope taut then run about a dozen yards to the edge so we could swing 20 or 30 feet out over the water before trying to make the biggest splash possible.
Hope families, friends, followers & fans enjoyed this stroll down memory lane and got a chance to defy gravity.
Excised FYI that came out well
A ride w/ one of the moms on the block, who were driving their own kids on bad weather days, was not unusual.
Riding our bikes down an incline w/o using our brakes to see who could coast the farthest was even more fun.
Bulletin Board Teaser
