The best part of getting the backyard taken care of is the joy of looking at it while I am lying in the pool.  Each year we open the pool and it looks like a sludge filled pond.  Each year I think there is no way in hell that I am setting foot in anything that disgusting.  Yet each year, after tons of shock, chlorine tablets, ph plus, and ph minus to balance the whole thing perfectly we are blessed with a pristine pool that calls to me when I am inside and the sun is out.

This year was no different.  In fact, I might have anticipated it a little more since we re-lined it last year.  I was hoping that maybe something miraculous had happened and when they removed the cover there would be a crystal clear pool shining beneath like some liquid present just my own.  No such luck.  Not only was the swamp in full swill but frogs had taken up residence in the murky waters and I feared what might lie beneath.  I carefully removed the frogs, and tentatively reached into the skimmers to clean and replace them.  I called the pool weasels (they earned that name…trust me) and asked them to come and do their magic.  You know how in the movies the pool guy is some built guy that looks like he just walked off the pages of Shape magazine or Stud Monthly.  Yeah, that’s a lie.  In the real world the pool guy is a middle aged, overweight, red-neck who doesn’t wear a shirt and really should.  I don’t call unless I have to, trust me.

Well, it is done.  The pool is operative.  As an added bonus the yard work is mostly done.  There is only one more flower bed to clear, and I am seriously considering not planting it…you know, just let it go all Jurassic park.  It has the remaining tree stumps from last year’s ice storm, but I figure with the growth rate that ratty corner has it should convert back to its natural state in about…well let’s say the weekend to be safe.  I hate to even walk around back there.  I am always afraid the velociraptor is on the loose and here I am without a jeep.  I don’t do well with nature.  I like being in it as long as it doesn’t get on me.  There are definite getting on you things in the Jurassic corner of the yard.  I shudder.

I think my husband let me put in a pool all those years ago, because he knew it was the only way to get me involved in the yard work.  He was right.  I only do it so I can enjoy the view from the pool.  It looks just fine without any work from the dining room table.  You can always shut the blinds if you disagree.  I like the big vining honeysuckle bushes that line the fence.  I like the two trees that have come up on their own and the ever growing cherry tree is now really taking off.  Recently we discovered a patch of wild strawberries that are growing beneath a mimosa tree.  Most of the back yard defied the ice storm like a storm trooper. The cherry tree is a little bent now, but still hanging in there.  I know how it feels most days.  We took out the hammock because it was becoming a liability, but there is a rumor that my husband will actually come through this year and get me the porch swing back there that I have wanted for a couple of years now.  I’ll believe it when I see it of course.  The only big disappointment is that our huge umbrellas have bitten the dust.  You would think after thirteen years we would remember to take them down.  Apparently we are just not that bright.

Tomorrow I am swimming.  I say this with great conviction.  The water is a little cold.  I don’t care.  I have worked my fingers to the nub clearing out that nasty backyard and have been more than diligent in caring for the pool.  So tomorrow I am going swimming.  I looked at the forecast and there is a chance of rain and the temperatures are supposed to be somewhat cooler.  I hope there is no lightning, because I am not worried about getting wet.  Wet is what I am going for.  Cold?  Cold and I are old friends.  I live with the original Mr. Freeze.  I have a wet suit if need be.  Tomorrow, I am going swimming.  I need to feel like this was all for something.  If I catch cold and die, just remember to please have the service out by the pool..and if it’s not too much trouble could someone please say “doesn’t the yard look nice?”