Gone with the wind

Our backyard does not have any shade. This has always been a problem. Until this past summer. After we decided to re-do the patio, we purchased a free-standing pergola from Sears. It worked beautifully. It provided us with shade and it was perfect for the space.

The one stipulation was that we had to take the tarp off when it was super windy. And at first we were so diligent about it. We would take it off and fold it up and put it away and then when it wasn't windy we would put it back on. We never bolted the pergola down because we didn't want to drill holes into the brand new patio. So - basically the pergola was free standing.

Anyway - last week it was really windy. I guess it was more windy than I thought. I wasn't home and apparently Brian came home and discovered that the pergola had blown over. Yes. As in tipped over on its side from the wind. And it was ruined. The poles were all jacked up and mangled and it was beyond being fixed.

So now we have don't have any shaded. Luckily summer is over so we don't have to worry about it right now. We are thinking that we are going to have to have a solid structure built.

But for now - the pergola is gone. Gone with the wind.

The remainder of the pergola