Storm Francis

And on top of everything else - the storms are back . . .  Francis has done its worst, which was mainly to bring down part of the ornamental 'palm' in the back garden (itself a reincarnation of one we lost to our last really snowy winter back in 2010).

On the whole we escaped the worst of it, and as you can see there is still a healthy offshoot, so the palm isn't done for yet.  We also avoided a scheduled 'switch off' for network maintenance as electricity crews were too busy dealing with the fall out of the storm.

Here's hoping for a quieter end to the year weather-wise!

DIY Fire Pit

Ended up dismantling this as part of our '#kitchencourtyardredesign' - which revealed an old and very rusty domed cauldron, with a small hole in the base.

It rolled around the courtyard for a bit while we considered what else we might plant in it, then we had that 'eureka' moment - what about a fire pit?

Cleaned off the worst of the rust, and propped it up on some bricks (with its handy air hole at the bottom).

Then - serendipitously - found that an old rusty metal parasol base, that was also knocking round the garden, fitted exactly on the top as a lid for a rainy day!

Time for a test firing . . .

. . . and looking good!

#kitchencourtyardredesign

Still working on it, but the kitchen courtyard is looking a lot tidier - some flower planting, pots with herbs, and even a water feature.  A much nicer place to sit out and enjoy the evening sunshine!