All that work and it was down in a minute
- Laura Moore: Housebroken
- August 26, 2019
- 891
With no porch and no deck, our house has let us know she feels deprived. Other places around us are decked or porched, and our house has to look at them. This makes her feel “less than,” and no house should feel that way.
One of our children decided to help us out and found a canopy online and ordered it. It arrived with two grandsons, a son, a daughter-in-law, a daughter and a granddaughter. My Taller Half remained on-site as a supervisor.
They all pitched in to help set up the new canopy. The installation instructions were just pictures, but our group managed to figure out how it should be done. It wasn’t easy, quick or simple, but they got it up. We all sat in its shade to cool off and admire the group’s handywork. After a few libations and some rest, the bulk of our group headed for home.
That night a storm rolled through our neighborhood. There were a few strong wind gusts. And guess what? Yep, down came the newly erected canopy. A couple of the support poles remained in place. A couple did not. They are spread across our lawn, piled on top of each other. It is a mess. All that work and it was down in a minute.
There must be a way to erect that canopy so it can weather the storms without just giving up and collapsing. Surely our new shade source can be made strong enough to weather Mother Nature’s occasional tantrums. Tomorrow help arrives, so now plans are being made.
First, new support poles must be bigger. Second, they need to be buried much deeper in the ground. The shade curtains need to be tied open to give the wind a clear path. Only heavier porch furniture can be put under the canopy, furniture that is impervious to being shifted in its position by wind gusts.
All that might just do the trick, and if so, we can look forward to the rest of the summer sitting outside enjoying the breezes. If not, the shed inherits the canopy to keep it safe and dry until next summer. By then one of us might have come up with fresh ideas. Of course we also can look for someone who knows what he/she is doing. Erecting a canopy is not brain surgery, but it seems it’s close to it.