Well, little darling, it was a long, cold winter in the Northeast. Record cold. Record snow. Broken record

But spring is here at last. The sap is running, the goldfinches are starting to turn gold and my Newfoundland has rediscovered that ponds are for swimming. There are few joys that equal the rush of spring.

As part of the support package that comes along with all Peacemaker treehouses, I took a ride to see an old friend today — the Bond’s pirate ship treehouse — to give it a thorough once-over during its annual inspection.

With the leaves off during the mid-March annual inspection, the Bond's pirate ship treehouse can be seen from stem to stern. In a few weeks, it will all but dissappear in the maple tree's fresh canopy.

Old treehouse project partner Ed Bond met me in the driveway and led me around to the back of his house, telling me tales of taking video when the treehouse was snow-covered and how his son Jack has cemented plans for a slide to be attached outside the emergency exit he asked me to add at the end of the project last summer.

The conversation stalled, however, when we turned the corner and hit the yard. Our host tree, a 50-70 year old Norway maple, has a large and dense crown. It’s part of what made the pirate ship treehouse experience so wonderful — from the deck 10 feet up in the canopy it’s hard to see the horizon, so it’s easy to get lost in the motion of the leaves and imagine yourself at sea. Since most of the construction took place last year after the leaves had burst out and enclosed the site, the late-winter visitor is treated to views never before seen.

Viewed as a whole from across the yard off the bow, a sight only possible after the snow melts and before the spring bloom, the Serpent Slayer seems for the first time as intimidating as its name.

The whole treehouse is visible now, from stem to stern, offering a brand new perspective on Jack Bond’s “Serpent Slayer.” The most intriguing vantage point is about 50 yards off the bow, where a full head-on view of the tree-borne pirate ship triggers outright intimidation. We modeled the Serpent Slayer on the lines and dimensions of real and model pirate ships, part of an effort to include enough authenticity to make an 8-year-old proud, but this was the first time we realized that menacing prepare-to-be-boarded feel had come through in translation as well.

Neat stuff, and a treat that will become an annual rite. Sometime between the snowmelt and the spring bloom, neighbors and passers-by will do more than a few doubletakes in this corner of New York’s Southern Tier.

As for the inspection itself, it’s an annual Peacemaker Treehouses ritual. With notebook and camera in hand, I go over the entire project from top to bottom. All connections, materials, supports, finishes, every odd detail is given the once-over — from the bolts that anchor the main ledger to the tree to the flexible collar that lets one trunk pass through the roof without a drop falling on the pirates inside

The Serpent Slayer passed its first winter with hardly a scratch. Measurements showed no change in height at base or bow. Tree connections look strong, with the tree showing no evidence of rot or sap loss and plenty of evidence that the healthy trunks are beginning to develop reaction wood — a natural step that will further strengthen the treehouse support. Moving parts still move with ease, painted and stained finishes look clean and bright. Aside from a good sweeping, and a repair to one solar light that seemed to have caught the business end of some falling ice, this ship is ready to sail into its first full season.

It was good to see Ed and the Serpent Slayer again. I’ll be back later this year to help Ed install that slide Jack has been demanding, then I’ll see them all every March hence as we all — Ed, Jack, the Serpent Slayer and me — age with grace and add some new stories to tell.