PoolTalk

Deer in Maryland pool

The  Olwine family of Maryland found a few unexpected  party guests enjoying the backyard pool the other day:

Bob Olwine saw them walk down the steps and descend into four feet of water.

"They probably just figured it was a small pond and they could swim across," says Brian Eyler, a deer biologist with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. "I've heard of deer getting stuck in pools before, but don't know anyone who actually saw them walk in."

Bob Olwine did.

He was pretty amazed by the whole thing.

And even more amazed when, in the next instant, three smaller deer showed up and pawed and clawed their way under the fence in an attempt to get into the pool area. They apparently wanted to go swimming, too.

Bears like to relax, too

Is there a better place to relax than a backyard pool? Not for this young bear in Washington State (from 11Alive):

This is the time of year when bears leave the forest in Washington state and move into neighborhoods looking for food.

The cub barely noticed the nearby fruit trees and took the plunge. He lumbered out of the pool, shook himself off and made his way back into the woods.

The pool owner drained the pool the next day, and no one has seen neither hide nor hair of the bear since.

A cow in the pool

There are family members in the pool, neighbors in the pool, cars in the pool, ducks in the pool, and now: a cow in the pool. From CBS (with video):

(CBS) PITTSFIELD, Mass. A family in western Massachusetts saw a strange sight in their swimming pool Tuesday night: a 1,000-pound cow.

Several cows had wandered off from a Pittsfield farm the day before, and one of them ended up taking a dip in the pool.

The homeowners called Pittsfield police. One of the officers said it was the first time he had ever heard of a cow ending up in a swimming pool.

The officer called a nearby farmer to see if he was missing a cow. It turned out it was one of George Noble's cows.

Noble along with several farmhands brought over a large ramp and were able to remove the cow from the pool and bring him home.

Ducks, pools and resilience

The series pilot for the "Sopranos" included a scene with a flock of ducks in a backyard pool and an anxiety attack. A blogger near Ottawa, Canada, Matteroffaith, writes about a pair of ducks that uses her backyard pool as a lounge on the flyway. Every spring for five years, the ducks have been there: "I can see the ad now…”Backyard Pool near the Nation’s Capital.  Lovely family will feed and admire you.  Have your picture taken and be written about in a blog post.” And in Appleton, Wisc., a newspaper column by Shipra Seefeldt centers on a couple of ducks that make their home in a backyard pool, sometimes long enough to hatch an inspiring story:
"The problem becomes the ducklings' lack of ability to get out of the pool — they have trouble jumping out or flying. Every year we witness varying attempts to get the ducklings out of the water, and I am amazed by the characteristics exhibited that can only be called "resilience." "

Where are the ducks in our neighborhood? Maybe we'll see some when we remove the pool cover.