Beachside Shade

Some of the best moments of summer are spent sprawled on a blanket on the beach. When the sun is hot, you need shade. Luckily, most beaches in the Pacific Northwest have the ingredients for a winsome canopy made with a few things from home and driftwood and rocks from the beach. If you have to buy the canopy fabric, you will reuse it over and over. 

What you will need:

• 7 (6- to 8-foot-long) driftwood sticks, about as thick as your wrist 

• Ball of sturdy twine 

• Sharp pocketknife 

• Lightweight cotton batik bedspread, or 10 feet sheer lightweight fabric 

• Big rocks, for weighing down the fabric 

Start by making a tripod with three of the sticks by holding the sticks together and, about a foot down from the top, weaving the twine tightly in and around them, going over and under several times until you have wrapped them securely together. Use the knife to cut the twine (and to cut cheese and apples and salami for a snack afterward). Make another tripod with the other three sticks in the same manner. Spread one tripod out and stand it upright in the sand. Set the other tripod in the sand less than the bedspread length away. Lay the last stick across the top of the tripods, and voila! You’ve made a frame for the fabric. Tie one end of the fabric to the top of each tripod, allowing the other two ends to dangle in the sand, then pull the fabric out slightly and lay big rocks on the edges to hold it out. Add pillows and a blanket inside.