Homemade Bubble Soap
Sure, you can buy bubble soap, but making it yourself is part of the fun!
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup dish soap
- 2 T glycerin
Mix the ingredients together in a jar or bowl.
Get out the bubble wands or make some yourself! We always blow bubbles outside, since they're very drippy and messy. When we're done, we just hose off the deck and then I feel like I did some cleaning and played at the same time!
Tire Swing
It seems like on the farm there is always a surplus of old tires. What better use of one than to make a tire swing? At Grandpa M's house there used to be a fantastic one on a super long rope, hung from high up in a walnut tree. The kids could swing in long arcs across the lawn.
While we're blessed with good trees, none of them had the perfect high-up branch that was actually accessible and clear of other branches. We did find an acceptable branch, and it was reachable with the extension ladder.
You want to be sure the area is clear of anything the swing can bump into, such as other trees, bushes, corners of doghouses...
Make sure your rope is rated for a high enough weight. I bought one that was rated to 310 pounds. The tire itself is heavy, plus the weight of whomever is on the swing, plus a little extra just for the force of swinging. It adds up.
Before hanging, we drilled a few holes in the tire, to keep the water from pooling in it.
Secure the knot at the top, around a strong branch. Adjust the tire to a comfortable height and tie it securely. Remember, it is easier to raise a tire that is too close to the ground than to lower one that is too high! Also, make sure the drainage holes are at the bottom.
Test carefully. The rope will probably have a little stretch. In the future, be sure to inspect the rope regularly and replace if it shows signs of wear.
Happy swinging!
***UPDATE*** - The tire swing above lasted almost six years. In the winter of 2019-2020, the rope broke. Luckily, no one was hurt when it happened. Definitely not as long as I hoped, but it did get a lot of use over those six years. We have replaced it with a slightly more expensive rope, rated to 400 pounds. Hopefully, we'll get at least another six years of use from it!
As another side note, our miniature horse loved the tire swing so much, we put one of his own in his pen. He doesn't swing on it ;) but he loves moving it back and forth.