Just to update this thread, we completed the 250 feet of steel cabling
today by lashing the two ends together using these cable clamps:
https://c3.staticflickr.com/3/2942/1...845164f7_c.jpg

To keep the cables from cutting into the trees, and to allow the trees to
grow outward, we put up a series of these wooden standoff blocks:
https://c3.staticflickr.com/3/2945/1...94070f9b_b.jpg

You'll notice that we doubled the cables as they wrapped around the trees
so that the strength is always two time 14,000 pounds, at all times:
https://c3.staticflickr.com/3/2944/1...3de04150_c.jpg

Here, you can see the two cables, hanging as two catenaries, from which
we will hand the suspension bridge:
https://c3.staticflickr.com/3/2943/1...edf3ba0c_c.jpg

We're starting to get used to working in the heights, as you can see by
this photo of my neighbor coming down from disentangling the lines:
https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3901/1...7461b64d_c.jpg

As you can imagine, we wear harnesses and we have static lines hanging
from all the trees, as you'd be amazed how many times you need them:
https://c3.staticflickr.com/3/2945/1...61137c64_b.jpg

In fact, my unenviable job today was to stand at the TOP of this ladder
and position the cables, which I did with two hands on the cables so I
had to be wearing a harness or I would have fallen off in no time:
https://c4.staticflickr.com/4/3870/1...f45d19e2_b.jpg

I'll let you know when we drill the redwoods to put in the tree bolts,
which will anchor the house; but first, we're working on the suspension
bridge (you can see our cargo netting in some of the pictures above).

Tomorrow we're putting up WiFi on a neighbor's roof, so we wont' be
working on the treehouse until next week.