Treeboy, you definitely should take a class. A lot of the things you are asking about now will be super simple once you've taken a short class about it.
An alternate solution to what moss offers is to have a seperate shorter rope that you use to connect yourself to the tree before disconnecting the primary climbing line.
Good luck!
love
nick
Would you like a lanyard spliced up, or anything else for that matter??? Give me a call- 323-384-7770 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.