Why Wear Wool

Fall Cold Weather Experiment

I had procrastinated for the last month to put the winter pool cover in place / OI had put it off because one I am lazy two Never had an extra person to hel[ me. Today though I had to get it done.
So weather conditions partly cloudy and 42 F water temp 44 F an I contemplated what it would be like in the pool So I dipped leaves for about an hour and got almost all of them out Next I strung the floats for the cover in place .
I unrolled the cover on the ground west of the pool By the way we have a 30’ x 5’ deep so the cover is about 32’ across and we have 4 Borzois that run the yard and control everything that goes on in the yard
They play Tag You’re the Wolf with each other and decided to play on top of the cover laying on the ground while I was trying to thread the cable through the holes around the perimeter
Anyway let me get to the meat of the story, which is Wool versus cotton. I have been long a proponent of wool and silk for winter time outdoor activities
Anyway I had gotten to the point where I needed to get the pool cover up and over the Styrofoam floats and they were stuck. I knew I had to get into the water.
I was wearing heavy weight jeans and cotton underwear. My socks were wool and I was wearing a heavy wool shirt almost a jacket. So I took everything out of my pockets and laid then on a table. I took my shoes off and got into the water. It came up to my chin and it was cold, So I worked at getting the cover over the floats and half of it pulled into pace
I went to pull myself up out of the water and onto the deck. I could not do it my clothes weighed a ton. I though “Oh No I am gonna become hypothermic and die within 50yards of my house

Fat Chance I had put the pool adder in place just for this possibility So I climbed up the ladder and out of the pool Yep the eater was wet and cold and my clothes were heavy Almost couldn’t make it up the ladder. I looked at my situation somewhat clinically I watch the water run down and out of my wool shirt. My jeans were holding the water much more that my shirt did and they stayed heavy
I wasn’t cold yet so I decided to work on the pool cover and pull it all into place . My lower legs were starting to get cold but my torso stayed warm I had on the best fabric man ever made , with the help of a sheep.
Remember when working outside alays wear wool or silk as base layers or even outer layers. Wool lets the water run right out and also retains about 85% of its’ insulating value. Cotton holds the water and speeds body heat loss Thus accelerating one to become hypothermic Cotton Kills in winter and summer as well
Moral of the story Plan ahead for potential hazards like water, Hypothermia, and other hazards that could cause one to become irrational .during any kind of activity . I planned the ladder to get out and I planned the wool versus cotton just in case I needed to get into the pool and both parts functioned as expected
I wish I had planned to put the cover on back in Sept. when we stopped using the pool