Better Late Than Never

    It has been sweltering (32C today) for the last two days but finally my pool is on the way to being ready. I had waited until the Norway Spruce that overlooked it was taken down to have it opened for the summer. Who knew it would be so hot this early?

This was yesterday with the winter cover still on.

    The guys arrived early and had the cover off in no time and started draining the pool. The water level was definitely down, so possibly there was a leak in the old liner.

   

   Then they set about checking the walls for damage. It must have been blisteringly hot working in the blazing sun!

    Now the new liner is in and the water hose is running to fill it up. That will take until tomorrow so, hopefully, I will be showing the completed process tomorrow!

Finger Update

    Went for a check-up of my finger and had the splint adjusted to keep it straighter. Unfortunately I have to continue to wear it for another 4 weeks and then will graduate to a velcro splint. I am hoping I will be able to get back to tennis then as I am sorely missing it. Also, it is difficult to keep it clean and dry (my yellow rubber glove is my new best friend) so it is becoming a bit of a nuisance. My pool will be ready in the next week or two but I doubt I will be swimming much until July!

   I wear it while chopping vegetables, handling meat and even when eating a "hands-on" meal like burritos or barbecued chicken wings!

A Possible Replacement

    My last remaining Wiegela bush (there were three) is in full bloom this week and I am considering it as a replacement for the Spruce. It's fairly tidy and will grow about 6 feet tall so would fill the space nicely, given a few years. 

   The two I lost had a deeper red blossom so maybe I will go with that this time.

The Stump

    Well, it's gone and all that's left is the stump and a ton of cones and sawdust. The logs were put out at the curb and were gone by this afternoon. The rest of the debris which wasn't carted away by the tree guys will be picked up (I hope) by the garden refuse collectors There are 6 bags! They are supposed to come today but haven't been yet due, I think, to all the trees that came down in last Saturday's storm. I passed one today that was spread over two front lawns. It was huge!

   Here is all that remains of the Norway Spruce. You can see how it had outgrown the small space it was planted in. Now I need to decide what to put there to hide the composter.