Patios "Spring" to Life Indoor/Outdoor Patios After months of limited use and less-than accommodating weather it’s time to get your outdoor entertaining area ready for prime-time! A BY ZACk WHITE s this winter’s mountains of snow shrink, and the ground appears for the first time since November, people can once again enjoy going outside. And for people like Cindy Smith, some of the best times to be had in nice weather are just out the door. “When I picture a comfortable house, I imagine a big deck where you can have family and friends over,” Smith said. “When I go to town, to my parent’s house, they are always out on their deck, or my brother’s, out on his farm. It’s just the place to be." When she and her husband Kenneth decided a few years ago what the deck situation should be on their house north of Havre, they decided to have a few different places to enjoy, adding three decks.     The largest of these is on the back 8 L I V I N G M A G A Z I N E A P R I L 2 0 11 of the house and is where the Smiths invite their friends for most of their fair-weather entertaining, from Sunday afternoon brisket barbecues to nocturnal aurora borealis observing. “All summer long, we’re out there doing something,” Smith said.     Out the front door, on the southfacing side of their house they built the second largest of the three, with benches and an outdoor fireplace. Cindy says that this one has the best views, looking out over Havre, toward the Bear's Paw Mountains beyond. Whether it’s the day-time view of the mountains beyond the winding Milk River, or the night-time glow of Havre's lights, observed from fireside, it makes sense.     The smallest or most intimate deck depending on how you look at it, is higher off the ground than the others. It is accessed only from their bedroom on the east-side of their house, making it the best for catching the sun's rise over the Hi-Line.     All three of the decks were built by continued on page 9 H AV R E D A I LY N E W S