There goes the neighborhood

We went on a bike ride yesterday afternoon and ended up at our old house. Brian (the new owner) showed us the garden; he is doing a great job. But, he also showed us the maple tree with the tree house in it. We've had some severe storms lately with high winds. Last weekend, the wind caused the maple tree to start splitting. One of the trunks with the tree house is separating from the tree at the base! It pulled the lag bolts right out and bent the 2x4 that holds the rope ladder. There is probably about a foot between the tree house and the trunk. I wish we had a camera with us; it is really strange looking. He is going to cut the branches off just above there, so that the tree house will continue to be usable, but is does look scary right now; I don't think I would want to climb the rope ladder—that extra weight might be just enough to cause it to fully separate.

I offered to help him cut it off. If he takes me up on it, I'll try to get a picture. It really looks bizarre...I guess we sold it just in time :)