It's official........

Summer is officially over.

I can state that with some certainty as we have just dismantled the summer gazebo which has graced our patio for the past several months, providing an oasis of shade in times of sweltering sunshine, and a dry haven in times of rain and showers.

The patio now looks very bare and exposed and rather uninviting.

As the gazebo was literally on its last legs, we have completely recycled it for alternative uses.

The legs will be used to prop up vegetable plants next spring, the guy strings have been rolled up into little balls and put in the 'useful' drawer. Ditto the metal D-rings and plastic doobrys.
The actual covering has been put to good use in our metal shed, which leaks in the winter and weeps condensation in the summer, so the plastic woven fabric is performing a useful function as an umbrella.

The weather forecast for the next day or so is wet and windy......it's only 6.30pm but it's so grey and gloomy outside it feels more like 8.30. As we say in Scotland, the nights are fair drawing in.

Finally, after putting in a full 8-hour day, without even a lunch break, I am about to retire to the kitchen where I will pour myself a glass of chilled white wine as a special treat.
In a spirit of health and frugality we're trying to refrain from wine Monday to Thursday (inclusive) but I feel like it's well deserved today.

Cheers!