Front Door Screen

Living in the Pacific Northwest, we don't get as much sunshine as we'd like.  Plus, our house (and neighborhood) has many tall fir trees that provide lots of shade for hot days - when we get them - but they also block out the warmth of the fall, winter and spring sun.

Thankfully our front door faces West, so on warm days, we open the door to let in the sunlight and warmth.

Unfortunately, that also lets in bugs.

So this year we hung up a piece of screening material to cut down on the bug invasion, but still allows the warmth in.  The screen is about 2 feet from the door and about 1 foot off the ground - which gives our cats a place to hang if they don't want to go all the way outside, plus a way for them easily get past the screen.

We tacked the screen to the house with some good staples (this will come down each fall) and we used a stick we found at a local river park to weight it down.  Using every handyman's best friend, Duct tape, we closed off the stick and Voila!  Instant screen.

Well, Duct tape isn't all it is cracked up to be, for the weather -- the rains, sun, wind - weakened the tape the the whole thing was falling apart.

Today, I decided to fix that.

Below is what the screen looked like before the fix - you'll note I had started my repair when I realized I hadn't taken my "before" picture.

Here is what it looks like now - after I stitched a row of yarn across the top, in the center (to allow the screen to be half-opened) and at the ends.

Better.  Also, when you look out from inside the house, there is no longer a distracting line of Duct tape in your view.

Hopefully this holds for the summer - when it finally arrives here!

Oh, and I did some seed planting too - just some cheap seeds I got in a kit from the craft store of Mini Rose and Strawberry. Here they are in the bathroom window.  We'll see if something sprouts!

Have a good week, all!