Procrastination penalty
Admit it, we all put things off, waiting for a more propitious moment. Any and all reasons are good. Things will work out.
Today, we’re at the end of the month. The first snow has come (and gone, except just north of here). The Indian Summer never happened this year. My plans to use a beautiful weekend to do all the seasonal stuff are worthless. Instead, I have waited through the clock change, and it’s a cold and dark evening. My options have been spent; the pool must be closed for the winter.
It’s cold, so cold that the water doesn’t even want to run through the sand filter. Draining is taking hours, literally. The plastic hose is stiff and cracking, so I have funny little geysers that are reducing the street-bound volume of dirty water. The ground isn’t absorbing the flow, so I now have a pool around the pool. Cool on the toes.
Finally, I have removed enough water to allow me to remove the pump and hoses, pour a jug of sweet-smelling antifreeze into the ground drain, and I’ve stuffed some foam pipe insulation down the drain, as recommended years ago at my “pool care” seminar. I’ll find the necessary strainer foam pieces later, when there’s more light. The pool is closed, supporting the maxim: Better late than never.
Tomorrow the ghouls and monster can run safely from door to door, as my pool is ladder-free and shallow. Next year, I’ll be earlier.
