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05 October, 2011

Fall Is Definitely In The Air

Around these parts, to the casual observer, it might seem hard to distinguish between the seasons. I mean, we don't have to find where the snow shovel has gotten to; we don't have to break out the sleds and skis; we don't have to see about taking the car in to have the snow tires put on; all those sorts of things that in themselves are pretty good indicators that a change in season is coming.

We do have to start thinking about where we stashed the blanket, our long pants, socks, sweatshirts, gloves, toques (See, we've been hanging around those Canadians too long), fleece jackets, Snuglis, and assorted other stuff.

Of course, all that clothing is stuff we tend to put on around sundown and early in the mornings. Usually by 9:00 or 9:30 AM, it's back to our usual shorts and tee shirts.

Here at Casa Winjama, probably the easiest way to tell that fall has come is that I've taken the pool-side awning down and stored it away for the winter and replaced it with the solar blanket pool cover.
Pool-Side Awning Down, Cover On
We knew it was time to swap things around because the pool temperature had dropped consistently to 82° (f) - which is pretty much the minimum temperature we can handle for anything more than about ten minutes. The solar blanket keeps the pool anywhere from four to six degrees warmer than without it. So, 86 to 88° (f) makes for a continued comfortable pooltime experience.
Solar Blanket Reel and Cover
We don't worry about covering the stairs or the spa area. For one thing, it'd be too hard to reel those bits in with the rest of the cover and we don't want to make the pool too warm either. We'll probably take the deck-side awning down in a few weeks - we wouldn't want to become chilled sitting around the deck.

So, I guess you could say that's the extent of our winterization for the pool. It keeps it nearly a perfect temperature during the depths of the winter chill and allows us to keep having pooltime throughout the year.

5 comments:

ajbaxter said...

Solar blanket? We just chop a hole in the ice for a refreshing dip.

AJ from Canada

Dave Rider said...

Hi A.J.,

Love it! Can't think of a witty rejoinder yet.

Cheers,
Dave

Anonymous said...

I always enjoy your blog. And as a Canadian... I am very impressed with your use of the great word ... Toque! haha.

Dave Rider said...

Hi Enymouse,

I have to admit, my Canadian neighbors introduced me to the word a couple years ago. Living as close to the Great North as I did, I had never heard the term till then. It's classier than 'stocking cap'.

Cheers,
Dave

Anonymous said...

Next thing you know you'll be saying stuff like , "pull the ottoman closer to the chesterfield eh, and turn up the box, it's the Habs and the Jets tonight". LOL