I use a patio umbrella, it works pretty good.

I hear you. I'm designing my pond now and being able to have shade in summer and sun in winter is a big concern. Not just to protect the pond but to make it more enjoyable for people.

According to the book "Nursery Management" by John Mason, high grade shade cloth lasts 15-20 years. But many common shade cloths are in the 4-10 year range.

Running steel cable allows the shade cloth to be opened and closed like a curtain. Also keep in mind that the sun is at an angle, so if you tip the shade cloth a bit you get more shade for less material. But you need strong structures to attach the cable.

We drove 1 1/2' galvenized conduit into the ground about 2 ft. Then we slid in a 10 ft 3/4' galvenized conduit into that, painted the poles and used 'S' hooks to attach the sail to the pole. There is also an end that is attached to our deck. This pic is not the greatest shot, but it gives you an idea of the overall look. It looks really nice while standing on the deck looking out over the pond. We also use one over our hot tub for privacy. We actually bought ours on e-bay for less than $30 with this being our 3rd year using them. They have probably faded some, but because the original color was a tannish color anyway, it is hard to tell.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:215322}}

We drove 1 1/2' galvenized conduit into the ground about 2 ft. Then we slid in a 10 ft 3/4' galvenized conduit into that, painted the poles and used 'S' hooks to attach the sail to the pole. There is also an end that is attached to our deck. This pic is not the greatest shot, but it gives you an idea of the overall look. It looks really nice while standing on the deck looking out over the pond. We also use one over our hot tub for privacy. We actually bought ours on e-bay for less than $30 with this being our 3rd year using them. They have probably faded some, but because the original color was a tannish color anyway, it is hard to tell.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:215322}}

Thanks for the ideas. I ordered a shade sale today on amazon. it's 16 feet so it should be big enough. I only hope it holds up to our AZ sun. The hardest part is going to be getting my son to dig me a hole for the post.