The roller coaster that is spring weather in Aroostook County continues to provide many twists and turns for area residents.
Over the past two weeks, we have seen just about everything there is to see when it comes to weather. On Saturday, May 23 (Memorial Day weekend no less) much of Aroostook County awoke to snow squalls. Though it only lasted for a short period of time, the idea of snow falling on the unofficial start of the summer season was unsettling to say the least.
Undeterred, I stuck with my plans that weekend to put the swimming pool back together and started the arduous task of assembling the various metal bars and plastic pins needed. I figured if I did not do it that weekend, I would never meet my promise to the kids of having the pool up before the end of school.
And as expected, it wasn’t long after the first warm day in May when the kids started asking, “Daddy, when is the pool going to be ready?”
In previous years, we have simply left the pool up all winter. But last year I discovered that after three seasons, the combination of salt water from the filter and heavy snow from winter, left many of the poles severely rusted. Some of the poles had gaping holes and I knew there was no chance they could survive another year.
As luck would have it, last summer one of my friends was getting rid of his pool and was more than willing to give me his poles so he would not have to pay to haul them away.
Determined not to let a similar occurrence take place with these “new” poles, I decided to disassemble the pool last fall and give all of them a spray of rustproof paint just to be safe. After all, isn’t the saying “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?”
Trying to unroll a large, vinyl pool is not the easiest of tasks. Trying to remember how all of the pieces went back together was another challenge too, but with the help of my wife, the two of us were able to get the pool up and ready for filling in only a couple of hours.
Filling the pool offers other challenges, as I always have to go searching for the spare hose to reach out to the backyard, and the extension cord has to be wiggled out a window and down through the hedge so there is power for the pumps.
Trying to get the water level is another as it slowly fills the pool is another monumental challenge. Last year, I had things pretty darn close, but not so much this year. With about a third of the pool filled, I realized things were off somewhat, but unlike previous years where I did not stop the whole process, drain it out and start over.
I figure so what if the pool is not perfectly level? It’s not like it is going to tip over and the kids probably won’t even notice.
I think this is why my father did away with the swimming pool I had growing up. I vaguely remember him saying it had something to do with the ground shifting each winter, causing our metal pool to buckle. But now, I am starting the think that he secretly went out in the winter and bent the pool intentionally so he would not have to mess with it any longer.
One day after the pool was filled, our youngest daughter threw caution to the wind and jumped in after school. I can only imagine how cold the water was, but she did not seem to care. Thirty minutes later, she jumped out and had to take a hot shower just to warm up.
It will take many more days of temperatures in the 80s to warm the pool up before I’ll consider dipping my toes. Hopefully it doesn’t snow before I have a chance to do that.
Joseph Cyr is a staff writer for the Houlton Pioneer Times. His opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect that of the newspaper. He can be reached at pioneertimes@nepublish.com or 532-2281.
