You are hosting. The grill is going, your guests are out back, and the evening is exactly what you pictured when you built the space. Then you need a clean plate, so you head inside. Then the good tongs. Inside again. Someone wants a drink. The burgers need a tray. You forgot the seasoning. The serving platter is still in the dishwasher.

It is a warm evening in late August. Dinner is finished, the conversation is good, and everyone is settled into the patio you spent real time and money getting right. Then the sun slips behind the trees. The air cools the way it always does here, faster than people expect. Within twenty minutes, someone goes looking for a sweatshirt, the group grows quiet, and one by one, your guests drift back inside.

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial starting gun for outdoor entertaining season in the Pacific Northwest. It's the first long weekend where the weather cooperates, the evenings stretch out, and people actually want to be outside.

For many homeowners, it's also the weekend they realize their backyard isn't quite ready.