Wednesday, May 22, 2013

The Laddering

Farmer H has been hard at work filling Poolio for the summer.

That makes it sound like he is actually expending effort. All he did was round up The Pony and #1 to help him remove the cover over the weekend. Then he ran a hose from the outside spigot and told The Pony to turn it on every morning when he let the goats out of the pen. This afternoon, Farmer H poured in some chemicals.

This is where our opinions diverge. Farmer H has been topping off the same butt-water in Poolio for years. Soon it will be more chemicals than water. I think he should drain Poolio every year, then refill and add chemicals as needed. I don't know why Farmer H is against this tactic. Probably because it's MY idea, not his. It's not like the extra water will cost us anything. We're on a well. The sun heats Poolio. Seems like he could start fresh every year. A full transfusion for Poolio.

I pity The Pony, who will be told to hop down into that water and set the ladder. That young 'un has no body fat to insulate him from the arctic glacial meltwater. Farmer H could submerge his own sea-lion-like body and not pop a goose-bump.

The laddering will most likely be held this weekend, rain permitting.

4 comments:

Sioux Roslawski said...

Yeah, that's what I tell the young thin teachers at work, who complain about the air conditioning.

"It's too cold," they whine.

I tell 'em, "Lard insulates. Get you some."

Hillbilly Mom said...

This reminds me of lyrics by Judy Domeny Bowen, a retired teacher from the Springfield area, who did a workshop at Newmentia where she sang her original teacher-themed songs. There's one called "Schoolteacher Stampede" about teachers rushing to the workroom for snacks during the month of December.

"See that teacher in the corner sipping water eating carrots. Oh my word, I feel so sorry for that poor thin fragile girl. She could stand some chocolate cherries, peanut clusters, orange bonbons...and I wish that she would give that rich divinity a whirl!"

ingasmile said...

I think Farmer H has you on this one. Emptying the above ground pool all the way could cause collapse. The water helps stabilize the walls. Plus, can you imagine what would happen if you had a big wind(tornado) with no water in your pool? bye bye poolio!

Also, the chlorine (bleach) will be totally gone from the water after a winter under the cover. Even if you store chlorine over the winter the chemical usefulness will all have gone up in the proverbial smoke!

The only chemical I put in our pool is grocery store liquid bleach. Cheaper than buying the "pool" store bleach. Same stuff different concentration. But just don't buy the scented kind. Plus, we try and use all of it so not to store any for winter. They do wonder why I want 5 cases of the stuff when I go into Big Lots though? They do ask if I own a laundromat?

Inga

Hillbilly Mom said...

Inga,
Farmer H is more worried about collapse from the boys jumping into the full pool from the deck he built.

I just don't like looking down in the dirty water when the cover comes off, thinking of the years of dead skin cells floating around in there. I think he could drain it right then and refill. Of course, a guy at school says he pumps creek water into his pool, and it's all muddy and fishy.

Farmer H uses Baquacil instead of chlorine. I don't know much about it, except that Save A Lot doesn't carry it!

This is one battle in which I surrender to Farmer H. If he's happy swimming in buttwater soup, let him sleep on a floatie with a cap over his face to his heart's content.