I Think

Nov
22


….I need a new flag.

The wind blows, the flag shoots up into the gutter. Sometimes if there’s ice and snow, it’s stuck there for a week. Eventually I get it down. Sometimes, even just in a rain storm, there’s damage when I pull the flag back down. I’ve had this flag for a couple of years and I think it’s finally giving up the ghost. I’ve tried attaching little weights to the bottom of the flag, but that doesn’t work to hold it down. Anyone got any great ideas for solving the gutter-flying flag damage problem? Before I put up a new flag!





Comments

  1. Ramona says:

    Being cloth, I think they just can’t last very long in the elements….

  2. SandyCWV says:

    Maybe get a pole that leans the flag out away from the house further so that it can’t touch at all?

  3. Backwoodsdreaming says:

    We had the same problem, plus it would get all wrapped up in a tree when it wasn’t stuck in the gutter. We finally put in a real flagpole and now Old Glory is flying high and free.

  4. Ashley McLure says:

    No solution for that except perhaps a longer pole leaning farther out and a slightly smaller flag. maybe nylon instead of cotton? I would recommend though if there’s a Boy Scout troop in the area to give the flag to them to be retired (or a VFW).

  5. Larissa says:

    Flag with a stick in it. Like the one on the moon?

  6. Jeanne says:

    When you build your barn paint a flag on it. :happyflower:

  7. Jane says:

    Hi Suzanne,
    Don’t forget to post the reminder to vote on the photo contest. It’s easier to do it from a link than to find your original post (okay, not easier, quicker). You’re so close!

  8. LeAnn says:

    Maybe there is another spot you could move the flag holder to that would let it fly around w/out getting caught on something.

  9. hershiesgirl says:

    Um…. yeah, a different spot? And don’t forget to dispose of your old flag properly…you can usually find a VFW that will take your flag and dispose of it in an annual flag burning ceremony…

  10. B. Ruth says:

    Haven’t seen any reports of using your handy-dandy sewing apparatus in a while….so (if it’s legal?)why not sew a fancy zig-zag down that rip of Old Glory…she’ll last a while longer…
    and then move your pole bracket lower to hang off the end of the porch bannister….well, unless the goats can stand up and reach that high for a taste of the red, white and blue…you wouldn’t want that….by that time maybe Santa will bring you a new flag with a super nifty shiny pole so you can fly her and see her just as you come up your drive….
    PS…I have seen these combos of expandable ground pole, flag, etc..online and also at flea markets…

  11. claudia w says:

    I was thinking what several people were thinking. New location or longer pole or a flag pole away from the house.
    Sometimes you can get a flag that has been flown on your states capital building. I don’t know how big those are, but wouldn’t that be a hoot?

  12. wvhomecanner says:

    Take it to the Spencer American Legion Post 21 for proper disposal (burning). They might even supply you with a new flag (some Posts do that). Here’s the Flag Code (more than you wanted to know :airkiss: ) https://www.legion.org/flag/code

    dede

  13. Karen Anne says:

    Aren’t they supposed to be taken in at night and during storms? Which always seemed unmanageable to me if someone has a life or lives where there’s snow in the winter.

    How about painting a flag on the side of the house?

  14. JOJO says:

    :woof:

    Hi Suzanne, I was trying so see what kind of holder you have, we have one that is adjustable so the flag can hang out a bit straighter and not fly so close to the gutter, or perhaps you could move the holder down the post a bit so it doesnt fly up so high.

  15. Nona says:

    I like some of the others, paint a flag on the barn side (when you build it).

  16. Joy says:

    I think that the angle you’ve got the flag at is causing some of this problem. You need it out straighter, more a 45 degree angle instead of the “almost straight up” you have it at now. You might try weighting the bottom edge of the flag down. Baste a couple of washers in the bottom corners and bottom center of the flag to weight it down and keep it from flapping up so high.

    As an anecdote, to get the exact sway and fluid quality to her gowns, Ginger Rogers mentioned that they used to sew a small chain in the hem so it would kick up just right and sway nicely. And her movies with Fred Astaire were in black and white but her gowns were in color. Just before the final filming they’d dye her satin shoes to match (as they did in those days and still sometimes do to match bridesmaids gowns). They ALWAYS shunk and pinched her feet. So that poor woman was dancing in too tight high heels with a weighed down skirt backwards….and they say Fred Astaire was a great dancer. I give his partners a LOT of credit.

  17. Jenn says:

    @ Joy: Love that!
    @ Suzanne: I agree with the 45 degree angle suggestion instead of straight up. I also love the paint a flag on the barn idea, but I am a bit funny like that.

  18. LisaAJB says:

    Karen is right, flags are meant to be taken in at night (unless you have a light on them) and during storms. If you painted one on the side of a barn then you wouldn’t have to mess with that.

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