I am doing my best not to complain about the weather. After all, the winter was mild and do you remember September? Gorgeous!

But I do wish things would heat up a bit. We spend plenty of time outside no matter what, but I'm longing for some hot days.

On the bright side, the cooler weather gives us all time to do some backyard DIY projects before the warm season really sets in.

My husband and I put this homemade table on our to-do list after seeing it in the most recent issue of Sunset magazine. It puts to use an otherwise unwanted object--an old window!

We're planning on making one that's a little lower than normal dining table height and then surrounding with four hay bales for seating. The Farm Chicks Antique Show is coming up, and on my shopping list will be four vintage quilts that I can lay across the hay bales since, you know, no one really wants to get poked by hay while they're eating dinner.

Not sure what I'm envisioning? Check out this photo for inspiration.

Looking for more backyard DIY ideas? Here are some of my favorite projects from around the web:

• Create a vine-covered teepee.
• Make your own concrete planters.
• Make an outdoor shower (OK, brrrrr right now, but I bet it will feel good in July).
• Build a potting table from secondhand building materials.
• Turn old wooden boxes into beautiful tabletop displays.
• Make a rain barrel.
• Make outdoor bottle torches.
• Build a simple summer picnic pavilion for kids.

Anything you'd like to add to the list?

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