Crab in our pool before rescue.
An interesting aspect of this particular area is that because of the water table and other factors, you cannot have a residential pool deeper than five feet without going to a huge expense and getting all sorts of waivers. Now, granted, five feet deep doesn’t do much for regular people, but it is fun to splash and float in. There’s a great little spot in the “deep end” where you can comfortably sit and be waist or chest high and have your beverage of choice right next to you. In other words, it’s hardly the size pool for swim training, but it serves the purpose for aquatic exercises, it’s pretty, and cooling on steamy days.
As I think I’ve mentioned in previous posts, we elected to go with the soft chlorination option which is a wonderful invention. Rather than a lot of chemicals, it draws chlorine from pool salt. It provides a slightly salty taste, you don’t have to worry about that harsh chlorine smell or having it in your eyes. We tell everyone who is thinking about a pool to go with that. Non-humans, of course, simply see a body of water without understanding the concept of fresh versus salt water. And because we have a “lip” around the pool, creatures that jump in can’t usually get out without assistance. The birds that sit on the hot tub as the water falls into the pool do tend to use it a bit as a bath, but that’s another post. Anyway, our normal “invaders” are tiny frogs and bugs, although one day we did have a small snake. Our ability to rescue the tiny frogs totally depends on how long they’ve been in the salty water. In many cases, it’s removing the little frog body.
I was definitely startled the other day when I looked out and saw a shape that I didn’t recognize. I stepped out and sure as the world, it was a crab. Considering how far we are from the closest genuine water source, I had no idea where it had come from and maybe it was some sort of land crab. I went into my rescue mode even though the critters do tend to resist being scooped up in the net, not realizing that we are truly trying to help. It took a couple or three swipes to remove the crab from the pool and considering how quickly it scuttled off, I think it was probably okay. I don’t honestly expect to see one again, but who knows?
