In expectation of a fine week-end, far removed from the kind of cold, wet weather we've been experiencing of late, necessitating rain-weather clothing on the warm end of the spectrum, my husband decided yesterday afternoon despite the cold, damp and wind, to get to work emptying the garden shed of summer-time furniture.

First off was the installation of the large canopy over the steel frame standing on our deck. That gives us shelter from light rain and from the heat of the sun during the dog days of summer. And there's a measure of privacy afforded by the canopy with its side panels of mesh, the back one comprised of a heavy plastic sheet that hinders rain from insinuating itself into the confines of the partially-covered deck.

The two-seater glider, with its cushions in place comprises my favourite place to sit and read the newspapers, with our little dogs. The lounge and the barbecue are my husband's affairs. After a long, extremely cold, challenging winter this is the leisure out-of-doors experience we look forward to with great anticipation.

The gardens below, in the backyard, provide ample opportunity for practising the aesthetics and deeply-ingrained pleasures involved in dabbling in the soil - providing us with another kind of gratification. In all, a formula for appreciating all that we have the good fortune to enjoy.