The St. Louis area had an unseasonably warm October. Mid-month when the
temperatures dipped into the 50°F range I got out my
fall and winter wardrobe and put all but a handful of short sleeved shirts
away. Four days later things jumped back up into the mid and high 70°s. The early fall shirts got pushed to the back and stayed there for the rest of the month.
But today finally felt like Fall. The change back to Standard time meant that
it was less than completely dark when I got up. It was cool and gloomy all
day; the dusk to dawn sensor pathway lights outside the condo building never
turned off. And thanks to the change sunset occurred at
5:03.
Looking at the ten-day forecast I decided there would be no more eating
outside. It was time to cover the table and chairs on the deck.
Every year when I uncover the small rectangular bistro table and two chairs I
think that this year will be the one I invest in a dedicated waterproof cover
to use in the fall. Then all of a sudden it's the end of the season and the
outdoor furniture department at the hardware store has turned into the holiday
decoration department. The first year it happened I bought a tarp and set of bungee cords and MacGyvered the protection
into place. I've done the same thing every year since.
After unfolding the tarp I draped it over the table and chairs,
then pulled it down snugly, lifting up the table and chair legs and putting them on top of the
tarp to help hold it in place. I folded in the excess tarp at each end, used the bungee cords to secure it at the bottom, and called the job done.
