We started the week out with high humidity and thunderstorms today. Summer weather patterns are starting to take hold as 80 temperatures will dominate this week's forecast. Hopefully, we'll have a great Memorial Day Weekend ahead of us.
My son took the pool cover off this Sunday and we began to prepare the pool for the summer season. The pool was constructed back in 2005 a year or so after I had my hips replaced. Swimming is a great form of exercise without putting stress on my joints. I'm in the pool almost everyday when the weather permits.
This was our fifth season of opening the pool and the greenest yet. There was a lot of algae in the pool and much more than we had ever experienced before. We do live behind a 240 acre farm and can expect nitrate and fertilizer to blow into the water from time to time.
Here is what the pool looked like as we started to do "damage control". :)
The pool looked much cleaner today. I waited for my wife to come home from work before we attacked it again. We back washed the filter system, sucked up the crude off the bottom with the vacuum, and re-shocked.
By morning, it should be clearing up nicely.
We do have to get some de-scaler for the hard water minerals that have left their mark over the winter. This additive works well and within a couple of days.
Owning and running a pool isn't too hard overall. There is a routine that one gets into for care of the pool. Indicators with water tests, etc. show us what we need to do to keep the water in balance. There are slow dissolving chlorine tablets that make life a bit easier. No longer does one have to measure out chlorine for the pool.
I took a drive to the river yesterday to see what the Pequea Boat Launch looked like. The Susquehanna River has been in the 10' range at the Harrisburg, Pa. gauge and Lake Aldred has been holding at the 172' mark. Typically, that would be about 4' over top level. But with the work at the Holtwood Dam, that level is now considered 7' over top level.
Here is what the launch area looked like.
The Pequea Creek was overflowing into the parking lot.
The ramp is well under water and the water encroached upon the parking lot and over the docks.
I had just missed my fishing buddy, CHRGD (Jeff) and his wife, Penny. They had fished the creek about twenty minutes before I arrived.
Jeff and Penny took some great videos yesterday showing the Safe Harbor Dam dumping water through their flood gates. I'm not sure why there was a need to dump so much water since the river wasn't close to flooding. But then again, I try not to figure out the reasoning. Maybe they had work to do down at the Holtwood Dam and they were draining Lake Clarke a bit so they could hold back more water as that work was done (?).
Take a look at these great videos...
The shear power of water is demonstrated by the following videos.
Keep in mind that Jeff, Penny, and I were fishing in this area just before the rains began. Now, it's impossible to even attempt to fish such treacherous water. Jeff wrote to me and said that it was like being on the ocean and rocking to and fro on a boat... Dangerous!
As you can see, our home waters were basically blown out and won't settle for awhile. There are others who are getting the opportunity to fish up north of Harrisburg, Pa.
I've been in touch with Josh (smallieman) Kreider over the weekend and we're going to try to get out later in the week when the river drops in to the 8' range at the Harrisburg, Pa. gayge.
A big thanks to Jeff and Penny for sharing the videos with us and allowing me to post them here on "Fishing With Dad".
I hear more thunder in the background... Better get off the computer soon before the storm hits here.
Take Care and Stay Safe,
Dad
