Halcyon means calm, peaceful, untroubled. We use it most in the phrase halcyon days, a gentle time remembered fondly. The word began as a bird. The ancient Greeks called the kingfisher alkyōn, and told a story about it.
Alcyone, daughter of Aeolus, keeper of the winds, lost her husband Ceyx to a storm at sea. The gods turned the two of them into kingfishers. Each winter, the story goes, the kingfisher built a floating nest on the open sea, and her father held back the winds for about fourteen days around the winter solstice so the nest could ride the water safely. Sailors called that stretch of calm weather the halcyon days. The h at the front came later, from a mistaken link with the Greek hals, “sea,” and it stayed.
A bird, a calmed sea, and a word for the quiet stretch we all hope for.
The Pool
What a Calm Day Means for Your Pool
A mirror
Without wind, the surface settles into a perfect reflection of sky, trees and house, the most photographed moment of a pool’s day.
Less evaporation
Wind carries moisture away from the surface. On still days a pool loses noticeably less water than on breezy ones.
Cleaner water
Calm air means fewer leaves, less dust and pollen, so the skimmer and filter have an easier day.
The skimmer’s helper
Gentle movement from the return jets keeps the surface drifting toward the skimmer, even when the air is perfectly still.
From our routes: early mornings on a route are often the halcyon hours, before the afternoon breeze comes up. It’s the best time to see a pool at its clearest.
Written by Larry Szulc, owner of Spectrum Pool Care, a family-owned company serving the San Fernando Valley, Westside, Santa Monica and Malibu since 1999.
