Just in case you’re wondering if I’m one of those guys who starts a treehouse and never finishes it . . .
The second level of the treehouse is up and decked and about as well-supported as I can make it (for a treehouse).
We ran into a lil problem on the second level. Remember those 4X4 posts I sunk in the ground in a most meticulous manner in order to affix my 2X8′s to the outside of them? Well, I didn’t quite bring them in far enough and I ran into a situation in which my 2X8′s wouldn’t quite span the distance on the second deck for the floor joists. In other words, Margaret, I couldn’t make traditional floor joists. I needed slightly longer boards, but lordy, hadn’t I bought enough lumber? Don’t worry Joyce, a solution was proposed by the brain trust of this partnership: my wonderful and hardworking wife. Make the floor joists diagonal, she suggested. (“Remember,” I keep telling myself, “it’s just a treehouse.”). So that’s what we did and you can see what the bottom of the upper deck looks like (not bad, if I do so say myself, kind of creative and crafty, if not completely structurally sound):
As you can see below, I put in a ladder on the inside corner, which leads up to a triangular size hole in the deck. It’s kind of small, so if you’re not slim you might not fit through (sorry Aunt Ethel). I’m thinking about how to design something that allows access for those folks who are a little “wide in the tide,” as my daughter so aptly puts it. You know what I mean, a lil big in the rig. I guess I could put in a ladder on the outside of this ladder. 
I certainly need to install a railing on the upper deck. Notice the photo below left: what we have here is a deck on top of a deck, about 9′ high in the air with no railings. The Safety Man would not approve. BTW, my neighbor who is also the city’s building inspector came by yesterday, as he does when anybody in the neighborhood starts some major construction project. I mean this thing is taller than your average back-yard plaything so it does sort of stick out. We’re on good terms though, ’cause my dog likes his dog and his son plays music and I play music and we’re both just good ole boys anyway, me and the building inspector (I just think of him as _ _ _ _ _, my neighbor, not “the building inspector”). So I was not surprised when he just smiled and said I was doing a good job.
Well, I will work on making it more safe in the following days. Btw, did you notice how dirty your knees get when you do work such as this? Actually, I have a propensity to be muddyin’ up ma knees all the time. I guess I’m just not afraid to get down in the dirt and get the job done. I’ve noticed all my jeans give out in the knees first. I’ve also noticed that this kind of work is a lot of fun, provided you’re not doing it day in and day out. May SirMuddyKnees live on!
