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03 August, 2008

A Sunday Visit

Before I get started on our Sunday adventure, I have to tell you about this little guy. I went out on the front (canal-side) porch the other night 'cause the dogs were raising a ruckus. As I turned on the porch light, a slight movement caught my eye.
Porch Frog
He was such a little cutie I just had to step back in and grab my camera. I snapped a couple of shots of him and decided to move in for a good close-up. The only thing I shot then was the concrete floor of the landing - the frog jumped at me as I moved in and he landed square on the camera. Surprised the shit out of me! So, here's the shot I ended up with, before his wild jump.

So, what could be better than going for a nice, cooling Sunday drive with friends out to the country? When was the last time you did that? Well, we did it today and it was great. We went with Doug and Twyla (they drove - a bonus) out to Four-Mile Lagoon to Gail and Earl's place to take a look at their new pool and see how it's shaping up. Their contractor, John Harris, has been working on it for about three weeks now, with probably another couple of weeks to go.

It looks outstanding. It's roughly the size that Dianna and I want for our own, so it was nice to see the pool during construction. Here's some photos of the bits and bobs and of the pool itself.
Waterfall Pump and Parts
Pool Chlorinator
It looks like the pump/filter/chlorinator assembly is going to be very simple and straight forward. I like the way it looks.
Two Views of the Pump, Chlorinator, and Filter
The Other View of the Pump, Chlorinator, and Filter
Pool Light
Here's the pool itself. This is the view you have coming to the pool from the house. The tall wall is the pump house, but is also where the waterfall will be. There are to Mayan glyphs attached to the waterfall wall.
Gail and Earl's Pool View
At the other end of the pool, the end you approach from the house, there is a set of steps to get into and out of the pool. At the top of the steps will be a sunning deck, which will have about 2" of water over it, so as you sun, you can stay nice and cool and refreshed. Under the sunning deck (where Earl is standing) will be two storage compartments for pool toys and supplies.
The Pools Steps - A Grand Entrance - Left Side
The Pools Steps - A Grand Entrance - Right Side
Here's a couple of views of the pool showing a skimmer and a novel way to top-up the pool, have rain water empty from the gutters into the pool. With the extremely hard water we have here, this will be a great way to soften the pool water.
Pool Gutter Outlet
Pool Skimmer
Here's a better view of the storage compartments at the end of the pool - also with Mayan glyphs attached to the end walls.
Pool Storage Compartments
Earl in One of the Storage Compartments
At the other end, where the waterfall will be, is the pump house. It will have a window and plenty of room for the filter, pump motor, and chlorinator, plus other necessary pool chemicals, etc.
Pump House Window and Doorway
The Other Way
Inside of the Pump House Showing the Plumbing
Here's a view showing how the pool is situated against the house. As Gail and Earl come out of the master bedroom, it'll be an easy few steps and they'll be in the pool. Nice.
Broad View of the Pool and the House
As we were leaving, about halfway back up the drive, we passed Earl's artesian well. At least it is during the rainy season. It really does pump out the water. Makes a nice water feature in its own right.
Gail and Earl's Great Artesian Well
After leaving Gail and Earl's, where they were nice enough to ply us with cold Belikins and some nice dip and chips during our visit, we cruised back into town. Along the way, since it was a little past 1:30 PM, we voted to stop somewhere for lunch.

Our first choice was Patty's Bistro, but they were closed. So, we opted for Butchie's Bar and Grill, located at the Marc Anthony Hotel on the north end of Corozal. We ordered some water and Belikins, as well as cheeseburgers. Twyla went for baked chicken instead.

They were just about done when (naturally) the power went out. Butchie came out and asked us if burgers sans fries would be ok as their kitchen is all electric and the fries would not be ready. Not a problem.

We dug into some of the best burgers we've ever had here in town. They were very, very good - even without fries.

From Butchies, it was a leisurely drive back to our place, where we invited Doug and Twyla in for a couple more beers and to enjoy the view from our front (canalside) porch. What a nice way to spend a Sunday. It seems like it's been years since we've done something that relaxing and fulfilling (and filling, too!).

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Dave,
This question actually refers to your house building and not your current blog! Do you feel like the your house has enough room? I was thinking of building a 20 X 40, but it looks like 20 X 30 might be sufficient. (it's just me and hubby, and the house won't be used year-round for quite some time.)

Dave Rider said...

Sandy,
So far our house (20x30 plus 20x6 porches on each end) is fine. That is, with the addition of walling in the downstairs. We found that with the stuff we had in storage, that there simply wasn't going to be enough room for it upstairs. We had planned to use the downstairs for parking and very limited storage. Wrong. However with both, and parking now under the palapa, it's very adequate. Well, it will be as soon as we get our cabinets and shelving installed downstairs. Everything pretty much that was in boxes in the truck is in boxes downstairs.
Since our house porches are actually built-in as part of the house, it's 20x42. I think the max they can build and transport is 20x48. That's a limitation of the roads, not the technology.
So, there you are. Hope this helps.
Dave

Anonymous said...

Thanks Dave! Hopefully transporting a house that size won't be a problem after they finish paving our peninsula road--which is starting soon! The contractor's are setting up camp...yeah!
Sandy
Oh, BTW, your fence is lovely!