This is the morning after a heavy rain last night. I swept up a 5-gallon bucket of leaves, sticks, and other stuff that the wind blew off the trees. As you can see, I've made progress since my last photo shoot about a month ago. I am still far from finishing and still have some lattice to hang on a few wall spaces.

I am almost finished with the wooden table in the center. I need to go and buy one more 2x6, and then I can sand the top and stain and apply the weather protectant to it. The remainder of the work is just cosmetic. I have started 2 running roses and some wisteria that will run up the lattice onto the top. But that will take a couple of years to get it to cover the space.

I'm not a gardener but am learning. I noticed a dead limb in a tree that is overhanging the garden area, and some of it fell during the storm last night, as I had hoped it would. It is slightly out of reach of my tree pruning tool, so I will probably have to get someone who is not afraid of heights to cut it. Also, two large trees need to be cut down. They have died, but they don't overhang the garden area, so it's no big rush.

The experts say that if water is dropped on the deck boards and it beads up, then it's not time to seal them. That is what I'm waiting for.