I love the curtains.  They are higher quality than I expected.  The do block light, but allow just enough when the sun hits them directly to make it look like the sun is shining through the trees. We do however have a huge Photinia bush that is in front of our window that is shielding some of the direct sun as well, so I can't say for certain how much sun the curtains would block when the rays hit directly.  I will be getting more to periodically switch the scenes out.