Day 146

After a long day of work, one of our favorite activities to do is to enjoy a  beautiful evening outside in front of a crackling fire. The kids make their s’mores and the adults crack open a beverage or two.

When we initially bought the farm, there was a dead tree smack dab in the middle of the yard. A few feet away, there was a small stump from a previously felled tree. One of the first tasks we completed was to take down the dead tree. Considering it wasn't that big, it wasn't much of a job. Once it was down, we cut it into more manageable, fire-friendly pieces. 

Next, we made a larger fire ring out of a couple of the many many rocks we had scattered throughout the backyard. Knowing we had a couple of stumps sticking out of the ground, we made the rings so that the larger stump would be in the middle of the firepit. The smaller stump ended up being a nice seating stump.

We took the cut up wood pieces and organized them under a nearby tree, fully accessible for many nights of fires ahead.

Behind the newly created fire pit was a nice open space between two trees. Preparing for night when our insect friends were a bit more than we cared to handle, we thought this would be perfect for a gazebo-style tent. We had recently seen one on sale and decided to give it a go.

I cleared and attempted to level the area where the gazebo tent would be. It was not the easiest tent to erect but after a fair amount of tedious work, the gazebo was up.

Until it was down.

At the time, the four residential lots to our west were clear. Having been former farmland, there were no trees or structures to serve as a windbreak. Needless to say, when it was windy, it was really windy.

Our gazebo never stood a chance. Heck, it barely stood at all. Within a few days of installation, a windstorm bent and broke it enough to make it unusable. 

The wind was constant and relentless. The gazebo was not its only victim.