First swim of 2008

We are enjoying a down slope compression wind temperature in the 80's and the pool is up to 76 degrees. It really invigorates. 

If I seem to be over enthusiastic about water, it is due to my youth in the Mojave desert. Anything that had over 50% H2O  we swam in. I guess the worst was the wet tailing's of the borax mine. This was a grey-green mud that came from the mill. the surface was deceptively dry looking  but if you stepped on it you sank!, then you could sort of crawl swim in it. It was cooler than the air. After "swimming" we would play in the dry tailing's (same grey-green colored pebbles) then we would admire our "lizard skin". We then had to don our Levis over the Faux skin and pull every hair on our body. The company showers were blessedly near so we could clean up. We also swam at the Western mines which was flooded and the water was pumped into a 15x15x very deep pool, we would remove any dead animals and jump in the super saturated solution. Cool and deep. When you climbed out your skin turned white with borax crystals. The mines were dug in many levels. then they would scrape with a drag line huge "stoaps" several stories deep. when they had been emptied a hole was drilled down from the surface and the earth packed to hold up the mine. They still had many cave ins. Anyway on the surface they had large metal tanks full of water, and if you didn't mind the algae great to swim in. Our constant search for water, prompted opening a fire hydrant and aiming it down and scooping out the mud. We could make a pleasant wading pool. My best friend Freddy's Dad was the mine Superintendent so he finally dug a pool next to his house, two doors away from my house so I finally had access to water! When I bought my currant home one prerequisite was a big enough yard for a pool! that was about 40 years ago, and I'm still swimming in it.