Tallahassee Sisters II

Teeter-totter, teeter-totter find me a way

To bump my chin, to make me bray

See-saw, see-saw what do you say

Get together with a friend, come and play.

It takes two to teeter-totter. You see, then you saw. It helps if the teeterer and totterer are of more or less similar weight. The teeter-totter can be an early lesson in building trust, or not. You trust that your chum will not leave you up in the air legs dangling with your groin being pulled by gravitational force into the metal hand rest. There are worse fates in the trust betrayed sweepstakes. That dangling feeling can turn on a dime. You could come plummeting to the earth, butt smacking the ground, knees around your ear lobes, teeth rattling inside your head. This is not the desired gentle let down from highest heights. It’s abrupt, brutish and can be painful.

Fulcrum fun seems to be an endangered species in Greater Halifax. Tallahassee Sisters II (map) is the first, though not the only, playground we’ve found with a small coterie of teeter-totters (photos). Noah-David is a great big brother with Nellie-Rose pumping her up and down with his little arms. He tries some solo work too and quickly realizes that there’s not a lot of excitement in that approach.

I seem to recollect a greater prevalence of teeter-totters across the land but this is purely a hunch. I’ll have to query the municipal administration and ask if there is a concerted effort to reduce, or remove teeter-totters from our playgrounds. Is the see-saw a vanishing breed? I wonder, what happens to decommissioned teeter-totters?

I pump the two kids up and down for awhile with my arms. It’s fun enough but doesn’t have the same appeal for them as the swings. They do like to run around and pull down the highest seat clatter banging into the small pebbles. The teeter-tooters are at the far end of Tallahassee II and we’re getting ready to cycle our way back through the swings and the modular equipment.

Swings are everlasting. The appeal never seems to diminish at 50, or at 5. Nellie is now a pro at the big kid’s swings. She’ll still take a spin on the baby ones but she’s no longer limited in her choice. So quickly she’s getting to be a big girl and she’s not quite two-years-old. She’s bold enough now to do the helicopter – belly flat on the swing seat, turning herself around in circles and then letting go, legs and arms akimbo as she spins.

Noah is right at home on the modular equipment and Nellie is right behind him. There’s a double chute straight slide at one one and a banana curve single slide at the other. Joining the two components is an articulated, vulcanized rubber bridge. Exercise caution for the young ones on the bridge. It can be challenging for them to maintain their balance particularly if there are other kids running across it.

There are climbing adventures for the 3+ set – a corkscrew bar and a three-step curved ladder. There’s a little area too that can serve as a house, a shop, a school depending on the child’s inspiration and imagination. The entire playground is fenced in, has pebble infill and there are a couple of benches for parents and caregivers.

There is loads of parking in the school lot. If you’re considering public transit, the closet stop for the 60 is at the corner of Ocean Lea and and Cow Bay Road. The walk from the stop is just under ten minutes.

There are a number of attractions here in Eastern Passage and the surrounding area. Right next to the playground is the Community Garden with its chess board. This is the venue for the Annual Teddy Bear’s Picnic held during the Eastern Passage Cow Bay Summer Carnival. Down the road toward the city, is MacCormack’s Beach and Fisherman’s Cove. About five kilometres in the opposite direction is Rainbow Haven Beach.

Stay tuned for an update on the fate of Greater Halifax teeter-totters in a future post.