The Pits?

Or is it the pit? Firepit, that is—rural American style.

Back in July, I bought the pergola when Krogers had a big end-of-summer-yard-stuff sale. It took a bit of shifting around, but we finally got the thing where we wanted it.

We added a windchime and a bird feeder. I thought the, uh, installation was complete. Meanwhile, my writer buddy Claudia—who lives just over yonder to the west about a mile as the crow flies—built a firepit. Well, my husband got inspired.

He decided that a firepit was what the pergola needed to really set it off. There was, of course, a slight problem. The pergola sits in what we call the "lower courtyard," but what is in reality the "septic field." He didn't want to go digging a hole over the septic tank.

Consequently, he came up with a solution that he thought went with our rural decorating style:

Naturally, when I saw what he'd done, I was aghast. Have you ever seen anything so unaesthetic?

Anyone with the tiniest sense of decorating knows the stove should be parallel to the benches so there's some leg room. I mentioned this to him but figured he didn't pay much attention until last night when he decided it would be easier to rotate the pergola instead of moving the stove, so that's what we did.

Today, I was busy at the computer when I smelled an acrid aroma. I followed my nose to the den door and saw this:

He had fired up the stove, now parallel to the benches—which makes it look soooo much better, doncha think?

Granted, the whole thing will look better after the stove blackens a bit more (which it's now well on its way to doing) and after we figure out where to stack the firewood. But it certainly makes an interesting addition to the courtyard and the birds don't seem to mind the smoke when they visit the bird feeder.

The benches warm up nicely after the fire's been going for a while. Perfect for cold weather yard-sitting.

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