In my pool pollen which has settled on the bottom looks greenish-brown, either in clumps or in streaks. I was aghast that first spring at all the "algae" in my pool and spent inordinate amounts of time vacuuming and brushing, and a great deal of water backwashing and rinsing the filter. Still, each morning brought more of this stuff. It was disheartening!
Then I learned about skimmer socks. I swear to you, it was an epiphany! That first morning after putting a sock in the skimmer brought a nearly clean pool bottom and some very weird, caked, fibrous light yellow stuff in the sock. What the heck . . . ? This was a day when all the trees had seemingly burst at once, the honeysuckle, the autumn olives, the birch, the firs and pines and the surface of the water was covered with various kinds of white and yellow fuzz. Bingo! :idea: Pollen!
The following year I learned of the PoolSkim and bought one. Between it and the socks I have nearly no drowned pollens anymore. I do battle the bracts from the birch trees which sink very quickly and don't get swept into the skimmer or PS net but my attitude toward these organics has become very sanguine.
Most days I toss the dogs in the pool to stir up the water - they're excellent aerators, dogs are, and do a wonderful job swirling up bottom debris. I run the pump for a couple of hours after they've mixed up the water and what doesn't get caught in the skimmer devices gets vacuumed up next time.
After a while you get very good at "learning" your pool. You know how it responds to changes in water temperature, you know how to react to changes in chemistry, when to do something and when to let it go, and you learn to distinguish real algae from just dirt. Pools get dusty, too, especially if you live in a rural area, and wet dust = mud eventually. In my pool algae has two properties which clearly distinguish it from dirt: it is definitely green and it doesn't swirl up; it sticks, sort of. I've learned where in the pool algae will grow if given the chance, over on the shady side right where the cove meets the bottom.
Each pool is different and each one has to be "learned" by its owner.
I sympathise with you about the pine needles and the bugs. Our Japanese beetle situation wasn't bad this year (thank you, Mother Nature!) but there've been years where the skimmer basket was filled to the top with them - and for some reason those buggers don't easily die by drowning. I got to where I had to dig holes to empty the basket into, giving them a decent burial. For some reason my husband refused to allow me to burn them in the burn barrel.
Ok, rambling. I'll shut up now.