ARTICLES Archives - Page 128 of 315

#9: Leaf Cover

In large parts of the country, pool owners are happy that there's no need to winterize their watershapes the way it's typically done across the northern states: No need to shut down systems, draw down the water level and cover things up tight from October until March or April. In lots of warmer places, however, there's a benefit to adapting a component of those seasonal northern practices for the worthy purpose of keeping leaves in Texas or Florida or California from

Rocking and Rolling

I've often seen rock placement described as an "improvisational art" by others who've written for WaterShapes, and I couldn't agree more. Once the liner's in place and it's time to dress it up with everything from large boulders to tiny gravel, I get the sense that this is less a construction task than it is an exercise in creative manipulation. You'll see some of that creativity on display in the two videos linked below, but what you'll also see is that experience really does count: In setting rocks in place, you end up handling and rotating and flipping and fine-tuning the positioning of dozens or hundreds or even

Rocking and Rolling

I've often seen rock placement described as an "improvisational art" by others who've written for WaterShapes, and I couldn't agree more. Once the liner's in place and it's time to dress it up with everything from large boulders to tiny gravel, I get the sense that this is less a construction task than it is an exercise in creative manipulation. You'll see some of that creativity on display in the two videos linked below, but what you'll also see is that experience really does count: In setting rocks in place, you end up handling and rotating and flipping and fine-tuning the positioning of dozens or hundreds or even

Olympian Aspirations

Business and pleasure have carried me to Atlanta more times than I can count through the past 30 years. On many of those occasions, I attended trade shows in the Georgia World Congress Center and found myself with enough time on my hands that I was able to enjoy Centennial Park, where people from all over the world once gathered to celebrate the Olympic Games of 1996. I'd seen this area before the Olympiad, and I must say that the degree to which the city remade itself to host this international showcase event is truly remarkable. Particularly welcomed is the abovementioned Centennial Park, a broad, open space that I've strolled through often enough that it feels a bit like home. I am persistently intrigued by the Fountain of Rings, the park's big, interactive waterfeature. Lots of times, I've seen the fountain teeming with kids running wild through varied jets of water, but on several occasions the timing's been right and I've caught one of the choreographed shows set to music of many descriptions. This fountain, some say, is the precursor to

Olympian Aspirations

Business and pleasure have carried me to Atlanta more times than I can count through the past 30 years. On many of those occasions, I attended trade shows in the Georgia World Congress Center and found myself with enough time on my hands that I was able to enjoy Centennial Park, where people from all over the world once gathered to celebrate the Olympic Games of 1996. I'd seen this area before the Olympiad, and I must say that the degree to which the city remade itself to host this international showcase event is truly remarkable. Particularly welcomed is the abovementioned Centennial Park, a broad, open space that I've strolled through often enough that it feels a bit like home. I am persistently intrigued by the Fountain of Rings, the park's big, interactive waterfeature. Lots of times, I've seen the fountain teeming with kids running wild through varied jets of water, but on several occasions the timing's been right and I've caught one of the choreographed shows set to music of many descriptions. This fountain, some say, is the precursor to