One of my favorite structures on our property is the gazebo. Truett designed and built the gazebo around 2001. Clay and I carried the wood, stacked the wood and helped paint the wood. Mostly Clay and I watched Truett build it, ready to fetch the things he needed or try to catch him if he fell off the ladder. Yeah, right! When it was completed, it was the cutest building I had ever seen.
When the gazebo was built Truett and I would sit in it in the late afternoons and talk and watch squirrels and birds. This lasted until the Spring rains came which consequentially brought mosquitoes. Swarms of mosquitoes. Even the Citronella candles did not keep the mosquitoes away. That's when we realized we should have screened the gazebo in.
Several times a year we sweep the gazebo down and swipe the granddaddy long legs, banana spiders and crab spiders away. We never squish the spiders, just fling them out with a broom and give them a new area to spin their webs. Then one of the guys power wash it until it practically sparkles.
Maddie used to dance in the gazebo when she was smaller, before we remodeled the house and added all the screened porches. I was inspecting the gazebo today, thinking it needed cleaning again. After all, now that Oliver is walking and climbing, it will make a fun place for the two of them to play in.
I remember one summer when Sherry and I chose to wind down in the gazebo after a full day with the family, a place to escape the kids. It was very peaceful. Then the sprinkles began, followed by a downpour of rain. Still, we sat there until a Florida thunderstorm blew in. The rain blew in sideways, getting us wet. Still we sat there. "It'll be over in a few minutes," I said. That's the way our summer storms are." However it took only one flash of lightning and a deafening clap of thunder to spend us high-tailing it to the house. I have good memories of the gazebo and plan to have many more.
That's an intriguing photo of the gazebo. It lures you in. Good shot.
Posted by: Sherry | January 13, 2008 at 05:47 AM