Solar Kiddie Pool Heater

I came up with a way to warm our kiddie pool almost to bathwater temperature on sunny days.

First, I lay a piece of black plastic sheeting over the water in the morning.  The black plastic absorbs heat, warms the water underneath, and traps the heat.

I added a small sump pump from a discarded water feature fountain, and plugged it into a GFI outlet.  I also unplug it before entering the pool as an added precaution.

The pump circulates the water from the pool, through a 100 foot coil of 1/2" black poly tubing, and back to the pool again.  The tubing is attached to a piece of plywood made black by covering it with leftover asphalt shingles turned upside down.  Nipper, the gator, helps to hold the tubes in place.

Voila! By mid afternoon, the water is warm, just in time for a pre-dinner soak.  It is a soothing place to watch the hummingbird antics at the feeder a few feet away.

Cheers!





This and That...

This mural brought back fond memories of parenting, as I too enjoyed being whipped by my kids while lying on the bed.  This was on the fence where the new Legoland Hotel is being built.

I found these on the beach while picking up plastic.  The turtle was missing his left arm, but Gail found a replacement that popped in perfectly.  Andria thought he now looked more like a fiddler crab than a turtle.  Fortunately, Paco enjoys his new friends.

Gail and her mom are clipping their prized rose bush at the Escondido house.  Gail has done so much over the past two years to make the half acre yard into a nature reserve/park.

This is the top of Gwen's (Gail's mom) driveway at the house entrance. 

Gail is transitioning the yard into one of more cactus and succulents - very appropriate for inland San Diego County.

The western theme is seen in the garden and house. 

It has been a beautiful, sunny week here on the coast, with afternoon swims in the pool.  Coming soon is a review of my kiddie pool solar water heating system, built for $15.  You won't want to miss this exciting development!

Father's Day Visit

Father's Day had special meaning this year when Andria's family rolled into Carlsbad for a four day visit.  Both of us Dads had much to be thankful for, especially with the recent birth of Susanna.  The fun was non-stop, as you will soon see!

Andria started the fun off by modeling a wig from our costume treasure chest.  Everyone soon got into the action.

Little Chief Running "Bearfoot" streaking by.

Digging into the chest.

Viper Princess ribbon dances through the backyard village.

Dave and his two little engineers marveled at the Star Wars pop-up book Gail had found.  There were pop-ups within the pop-ups!

The next morning, Monday, started off with a splash - literally! Then followed by...

Legoland!  Here, Nora, Soren, and I use our imagination to build cars for the downhill racetrack.

Soren is a master car builder and went right to work, no problem!

New York City built with hundreds of thousands of Legos is impressive!

The kids were crazy about the Star Wars constructions!

One of several Star Wars battlefield recreations, in Legos, of course.

After Legoland, it was a fun tropical BBQ dinner with Paco and ...

the luau master!

Water World was the theme for Tuesday.  We went boogy boarding at the beach (regretfully, I was too absorbed building sand castles to take pictures) and then came home for some pool party action.

Susanna went along with all the activities without complaint - what a champ!

Wednesday morning, Nora and I examined some of our pesky aphids with the microscope.

Next, it was back to Legoland where Soren went to driving school and earned his license.

Nora went to school with the six through thirteen year olds.  Here she cuts a corner in Carlsbad style.

What a great smile!

Watch out for Darth Vader!!!

Nora was familiar with the Star Wars characters and episodes.

In the evening, it was art night.  Andria read about Georgia O'Keefe while Gail organized materials, including bones for Nora and Soren to draw.

Teacher and students.

Soren capturing the essence of O'Keefe's beloved Southwest.

Artists at work!

Nora's vision of a jawbone.

Finally, on Thursday morning, we were startled by a visitor to our pool - a gator!

Gail and I did our best to give the kids a good workout before the long drive home.  Fun with cat tunnels, here!  The visit was sooooo much fun, and went waaaaaay too fast!

Black's Beach

Below are a few pictures from a beach walk we did yesterday at Black's Beach.  Black's is a several mile long beach with very limited access due to the 300 foot cliff that lines it.  This makes it a great place to hike in relative solitude.

Surfers starting down a cliff trail with a paraglider above.

This picture was taken from near the top - its a long way down to the beach!

Gail rides the sandstone warthog!

After a couple miles the beach comes to a  little point which you can round by climbing through a slot cut in the rock. 

Looking back down the coastline of Black's with La Jolla in the far distance.

About to take a shower!

Utah or Southern California?

Eroded sandstone

That black area is a mass of kelp flies.  We weren't sure why they were huddled on this area of rock.  Well, that's all for the beach.  We cruised up the old coast road as the sun set, and stopped in Encinitas for a delicious Thai dinner at Siamese Basil.