Skill level 

In our area of the country, mosquitoes and no-see-ums own the outdoors and my ever-loving wife, “Arbutus” (not her real name, but I suspect you knew that already), has always wanted a screen porch. Our house has a nice big deck but no screens and, as much as I like a challenge, it is not a trivial matter to put a roof over the deck in order to screen it in. Sometimes it is just easier to buy another house that already has the screen porch.

And that is what we did.

Buy a beach house and get a screen porch for free!

The beach house has many nice features but the screen porch overlooking the lagoon clinched the deal for Arbutus. (She likes it when I call her “Beautie.”) I knew she wouldn’t be happy if I didn’t buy that beach house. And if Beautie ain’t happy then ain’t nobody happy.

What comes to your mind when you hear the word “lagoon”? If you said mosquitoes you are on the right track. The real bugaboo (a rather apt word) is the unseen world of little biting insects commonly called no-see-ums. Continue reading Coming to a big screen near you →