My New Swimming Pool - Part One: Assembly

It doesn't look like a swimming pool yet, does it?

 

 We always seem to need new straw bale steps. 

They rot and sprout mushrooms.

There's also some chicken food and grass seed in there.

 Here I am helping Becky prepare the site.

 I'm very excited. Here I am doing my Doofus Dance.

 Becky needs my constant supervision. 

This is an important job!

 This is how you mark the shovels.

 It has to be really, really, really flat.

 Excuse me just a minute, Dick is asking me a question.

 

 My mistake. He is saying bad words. 

I guess the instructions say he needs to go to Home Depot.

 If the ground is soft we need some pavers to set the posts on.

 And we need a yard of topsoil for the bottom edge of the pool.

 The pavers are set out and the bottom rail is in place.

Two days of work already. 

The old pool would have been filling by now.

We already hate the new pool.

 

"Simply unroll the metal sidewall and place it into the metal channel." 

And pray the neighbors don't call the cops when they hear the cussing. 

The metal sidewall seems to be spring loaded and 

requires a minimum of 3 people to beat it into submission. 

At intervals one person has to run around and 

find a ladder or something to prop up the wall that you've already unrolled.

 "It must be 70 degrees f (21 c) when you install the liner."

It wasn't and we couldn't stretch the liner enough to get all the way around. 

You can see in this photo the close section is not pulled over the top edge, 

it is hanging down inside the pool.

You can also observe our clever temporary side supports: ladders and duct tape. 

Day 3 and the sides are still floppy and threatening to fall over. 

Which would in turn pull the sidewall out of the bottom channel.

 Unbelievably, we had a Seattle Heat Wave and it hit 71 the next day. 

 71 degrees and the liner just eased into place. 

We realized it would be quite impossible to replace the liner- 

if necessary- during the winter.

 

Day 4 and I'm so excited to check out the new swimming pool 

I barely finished my milk! 

Miraculously, another sunny day!

 

 

The posts and top rail went up like magic. 

Because Dick installed them.

 

 I hear something...YES! Water is going into the pool!

Five days of assembly.

I think I'll just admire it for a couple days. 

(Because I'm scared to swim in it!)

A Visit to the Vet

 Here I am at the Veterinary Clinic with Becky. 

There aren't any photos of us on the way because 

it is a little hectic and even with three humans, 

there isn't a free hand for a camera.

 Here I am eating raisins. 

The corn kind of exploded when I ate it. 

Funny, it does that at home, too.

 Last time I was here I was drunk when I left and 

I didn't feel too good for a couple days.

 This time it's about my eye. 

Stacy has taught me the names of some body parts so 

I wasn't surprised when the Vet started doing things close to my eyeball.

 I look pretty good in orange.

 Out to the car!

Leash technique: Dobby could back out of the harness from this position. 

It would slip right over his head.

Leash technique: Becky moves so that she is to the side. 

It is harder for him to slip out from this position.

Leash technique: Best position is behind, with two hands on the leash. 

He would have to walk backwards toward her to get out of the harness. 

Still possible, but less likely.

 Up the ramp! Going home is easy!

 Almost home!

 I'm home! I'm not backing out of my harness here, 

I'm just marking the leash with my morrillo.

 I'll just stop at this fern for a moment, chomp!

 Let me mark the leash, again!

 My front yard!

I'm proud that I was a good boy at the vet so 

I'll just mark Stacy's jacket to let her know.

Epilogue: The next day, Dobby begged to go to the front yard early. 

When we finally did go to the front yard, 

he scampered off to wait at the gate to go on another car ride!

Farewell Faithful Swimming Pool!

 

I love my swimming pool. 

Stacy found it on sale before I was born! 

I had to grow before she would let me swim in it.

This is my second swimming pool. 

The first one leaked. 

This one started leaking the day we set it up. 

They aren't very expensive pools.

 

On good days, it doesn't leak at all and I can swim and play in it.

 

 On other days it leaks a little bit. 

We have a hard time understanding how this can be. 

Some days it doesn't leak at all, like when the ground is frozen.

 Just lately, though, it has started to leak a LOT! 

 Even though the original leak was on the BACK side at the bottom, 

these new leaks started right after I went swimming.

 Heh heh heh, they are little bite marks I made from inside the pool!

Stacy took this picture of the original leak, looking down into the pool from above. 

The leak looks like a fuzzy whitish oblong near the center of the photo. 

Stacy would like you to disregard the ridiculous hat she is wearing.

 In this photo I am checking out one of the side benefits of a leaky pool: MUD!

It's a big leak and has made a lot of mud.

 The water in the pool keeps going away and the goldfish are scared.

 When the water gets low I'm not allowed to swim in my pool.

 We have a lot of water, though. 

It comes out of that green hose. 

So Stacy just keeps filling it up.

Today, Stacy filled a sock with sand and water absorbent polymer 

and dropped it onto the hole. So far, the leak has stopped, 

but I'm afraid it might be time to say good-bye to this pool.

Farewell, faithful pool!