Oh, the joys of owning a pool in Florida! You can go outside and cool off and swim anytime you wish. You don’t have to travel to get to the water, you don’t have to pay fees to get into the springs, and you don’t have to fight off a hundred other people for your spot in the water. And the springs are a cool 72 degrees. The pool gets warmer than that in the summer, which is not always a good thing. Swimming in a warm pool is not always refreshing.
Our pool doesn’t have a screened enclosure. When my husband had It installed twenty-five years ago, the installer told us that it would be beautiful to swim in at night with the light on. We turned the light on about twice, I think. As I said, our pool doesn’t have an enclosure. When the light was turned on, every bug for miles around swarmed to our pool and floated on top. Let me tell you, it is no fun swimming among all those bugs.
Another little discovery we made, right at sunset, bats like to swoop down for a drink of water. Let me tell you, this mama could move fast, getting out of the water when a bat wants to occupy the same space as me. Once, one lit on Aleta’s head, as she realized what it was, down under the water she went, unsure if she or the bat would drown first.
Another favorite pool creature is a snake. Once years ago, Rheba was probably five and swimming pretty good, I was standing on the deck as she went down the slide. Just before she hit the water, I spotted the snake. Being the loving, "mother-of-the-year woman that I am, I screamed “Swim, baby, swim. There’s a snake in the pool!!” Now, I’m not saying that I wouldn’t have gotten in the pool to save her, but I am thankful she outswam that snake.
Another time, the neighbors came to swim just before dark, all the kids jumped in, then we spotted the snake. Thank goodness, Jackie was there to take care of that one!
Which brings me to this afternoon. Aleta and I decided that we were going swimming. The sun was so bright and the water was almost blinding to me. I was at the deep end, when Aleta yelled “Snake!” Now if someone wants to kill me, that’s one way to do it. I don’t deal well with snakes on land, but I can drown myself trying to get away from a snake that I can’t see. I always exit the pool from the steps since that is easiest for my bad knee. But let me tell you, I could scramble up that ladder on the deep-end faster than a flash. From the top of the ladder, I could look back in the pool for the snake. Thank goodness, I was swimming with Aleta. She calmly got out of the pool and got the pool net. “I think it’s dead” she says. You mean I have just about killed myself and probably permanently damaged my knee over a dead snake? Well as she scoops the little (maybe 9-10 inch) snake on the top of the net, It starts moving. She slings him at the fence, it hits the fence, falls to the deck, then slithers away. I couldn’t enjoy the rest of the swim, because I was too busy searching the water for big Mama snake.
Aleta said the snake had a yellow ring around his neck. Then she said “But I can’t remember that poem!” “What are you talking about? “ I asked. “You know, the one about whether the snake is good for you or bad.” I knew just what she was talking about then. Is it “ Red on black, good for Jack” or “Red on black, bad for Jack?” Or maybe it’s “Black on red, can make Fred very dead!” A poem really doesn’t help if you can’t remember how it goes. Oh well, we were just glad there wasn’t any red, just yellow.
Just another day in the life of the Sheffields!!
Until next time (if the snake doesn't get me first),
Cynthia Kay
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