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I mentioned my friend's swing yesterday, stating that I needed to comment more on it. Well, here's the comments.
First, the back yard. It's about average size for a typical not-brand-new suburban home; I'd guess approximately thirty-plus feet (10+ m) square, but I've no eye for distances. In the back lies a shed, containing some miscellaneous items, and an old swing set with a slide at the end. In the front lies a patio with a barbecue, a park bench, and a small wooden porch; the porch opens to the back of the house. The center portion of the yard slopes steeply downwards. There is also a large tree, whose base is on one side of the yard at the top of the slope. From that tree hangs the swing.
The swing is simple. A branch extends across the yard, about fifteen feet (5 m) off the ground, and a single rope is tied to it. At the bottom of the rope is the seat of the swing: a circular plastic object, three feet (1 m) or thereabouts in diameter, with the rope passing through the center. A couple knots are tied in the rope above the seat.
(Am I supposed to feel like I'm writing a room description for a text adventure? In any case...)
The geometry of the yard is quite fortuitous, as it happens. With the swing set where it is, climbing on top of the slide puts you in a good position for sitting on the seat to begin your swing. If you are feeling ambitious, climbing from there onto the swing set and walking across to the other end gets you a little bit higher and farther from the fulcrum, allowing for an even better swing. Still better, you get to pass over the lower part of the yard while swinging. You end up about ten feet (3 m) off the ground, an exhilarating experience.
Those aren't the only things you can do (or rather, that we have done) on the swing. You can stand on the seat, for example, although I don't recommend standing higher, on the knots in the rope; getting your breath knocked out of you when you fall isn't fun. Another thing you can try is grabbing onto the swing set after the first swing, but you probably will have lost too much height to make it back on. The latest trick we tried is spinning, twisting the rope. That's also a lot of fun.
First, the back yard. It's about average size for a typical not-brand-new suburban home; I'd guess approximately thirty-plus feet (10+ m) square, but I've no eye for distances. In the back lies a shed, containing some miscellaneous items, and an old swing set with a slide at the end. In the front lies a patio with a barbecue, a park bench, and a small wooden porch; the porch opens to the back of the house. The center portion of the yard slopes steeply downwards. There is also a large tree, whose base is on one side of the yard at the top of the slope. From that tree hangs the swing.
The swing is simple. A branch extends across the yard, about fifteen feet (5 m) off the ground, and a single rope is tied to it. At the bottom of the rope is the seat of the swing: a circular plastic object, three feet (1 m) or thereabouts in diameter, with the rope passing through the center. A couple knots are tied in the rope above the seat.
(Am I supposed to feel like I'm writing a room description for a text adventure? In any case...)
The geometry of the yard is quite fortuitous, as it happens. With the swing set where it is, climbing on top of the slide puts you in a good position for sitting on the seat to begin your swing. If you are feeling ambitious, climbing from there onto the swing set and walking across to the other end gets you a little bit higher and farther from the fulcrum, allowing for an even better swing. Still better, you get to pass over the lower part of the yard while swinging. You end up about ten feet (3 m) off the ground, an exhilarating experience.
Those aren't the only things you can do (or rather, that we have done) on the swing. You can stand on the seat, for example, although I don't recommend standing higher, on the knots in the rope; getting your breath knocked out of you when you fall isn't fun. Another thing you can try is grabbing onto the swing set after the first swing, but you probably will have lost too much height to make it back on. The latest trick we tried is spinning, twisting the rope. That's also a lot of fun.
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