The other reason for the cover is to protect puppy from eagles we have flying about. Until he is bigger, he could be tempting bait (a la The Proposal - see clip below).
The shade fabric I found is 10X20 and cuts daylight by 30%. It took a bit to locate. The box stores didn't carry the width we needed. After some net research, I eventually found it. Many nurseries use this type of fabric to provide "shade" for plantings. It can also be used in greenhouses or anywhere you want to create some UV protection.
You can see the weaving that it is open enough to breath, but closed enough to filter light.
Armed with staple gun, scissors, and step stools, we attached the fabric and tightened it up. The sun was bright and hot, but underneath - WOW! It was easily 15 degrees cooler underneath.
You can see the weaving that it is open enough to breath, but closed enough to filter light.
Armed with staple gun, scissors, and step stools, we attached the fabric and tightened it up. The sun was bright and hot, but underneath - WOW! It was easily 15 degrees cooler underneath.
One thing I had to keep in mind is that the plastic fabric stretched as it warmed up. I did better at pulling the second piece tight enough after seeing how much the first one sagged. I was going to remove staples from the end of the first section and redo it tighter, but I REALLY attached the fabric well. Instead, I pulled a pleat and re-stapled the section on top. With both sides secured with stapled, I "sewed" the seam shut with wrap ties. While the girl-child and I worked on the run, the boy-child did some much needed raspberry taming. You can see from the first pictures how the brambles were everywhere. Post taming, there is a clear path behind the run so no one gets ripped up by thorns.
Here it is all finished, nestled between the hill going up to the barn and my garden shed. All it needs now is the puppy! He arrives tomorrow, if all goes well. But that's another story.
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