It only seems like yesterday when we were opening-up the pool, and looking forward to a Summer of swimming.
The weather forecast for the next week isn't good; Autumn has arrived. We're now having intermittent rain, with very little sunshine; even though the temperature is still around 20 C.
So, we've decided to close down the pool earlier than usual, in fact we've scheduled it for the next dry day (probably tomorrow). It's not a big job closing down, just a matter of covering the pool itself so that no creatures, leaves, or detritus can get in, and making sure that everything is turned off, and clean. It's no more than a morning's work.
I hate closing the pool; it's like a drawn-out way of saying a sad goodbye to a well loved friend. We won't be swimming for 9 months, but it seems like for ever.
And look; we have this extremely spikey Yukka (I think), which is having its first ever flower.
I've cut back all the fig branches by the pool gate, the Wisterias are all pruned, and one of the bigger Oleanders has been cut back to almost ground level. I'm told it will flower better next year.
Everything has been put away, locked away, and a note written of what I've done. That makes things simpler for next year when we open up again.
We've had our final swim (22 C), and we've stored away our trunks and bikinis.
Swimming is all over for another year!
