Last year we tied some twine to plastic water bottles and then to beach balls. The flooded water bottles keep the balls from blowing out of the pool. The balls have some effect keeping ducks out of the pool.

But last year the twine got algae and I fought that all year. I never thought about twine catching algae. But the twine was like a clothes line, fairly thick and braided, and too long, providing lots of hiding places for algae.

So this year I floated new bottles with short lengths of thin thread. The long twine of last year still allowed the balls to blow over the coping but not out and into the thorns of our rose bushes. Hence the change to short thread.

Yesterday I saw Mr & Mrs duck sitting on the berm next to the pool and the balls were animated by an oncoming rain storm. Success!

This morning Mr duck was having his way with my water. The twine had twisted the two balls together and they were hung up in a corner.

Today I plan to change that thread to even shorter length of fishing line hoping that smooth plastic filament will not hold too much algae spore.

No rest for the pool man.