Two aqueducts and two waterspouts have solved some longtime pool issues this week.

After months of trying, unsuccessfully, to fix two leaks in my pool's water supply system, I finally got really tired of seeing puddles near my pool filter and near my salt-water generator. I placed some PVC pipes to catch the drippings. The drippings go down the pipes and carry the drippings away from the pool. One dripping goes from the salt-water generator area to the pathway on the side of the house. The other dripping goes from the filter area to the lemon tree. I think I’ll plant something near that spot on the side of the house, and I’m happy that the lemon tree will get a little more water. Two happy leaks now.

Evaporation causes the level of water in my pool to drop. Every few weeks, it seems, I add water from a hose to fill the pool. I noticed that the sprinkler valve near the pool equipment was not being used, since I shut it off so that area will not get wet. Brainstorm. I connected that sprinkler to a spare hose and secured the other end of the hose in the pool, below the water line. Now, every time that particular sprinkler station is activated – set now at twice a week, for eight minutes at a time – it spouts water into the pool. I'm curious whether that setting will be sufficient to keep the pool from losing water. I guess I'll only know after a while. But then I can vary the time of that sprinkler station until it does the job of keeping the pool filled. One happy waterspout is saving the earth’s water because there will, hopefully, no longer be separate fillings of the pool.

The sprinklers in the backyard are great – except that there is an area near my recently planted small avocado tree that is not getting sprinkled. I had a manual timer set to deliver water to that tree via a drip irrigation system I devised some months ago. However, the problem is that I forget to set the timer. So I purchased a battery-operated timer which, according to plan, will automatically sprinkle the avocado tree, as well as other areas to which the drip system is located. One happy waterspout will, hopefully, save my avocado tree.

What is it with all these water works this week? I don’t know. But it’s a good way to take my mind off some upcoming medical procedures.

One happy writer – me!

Mr. Ebsen may be contacted at robertebsen@hotmail.com.