If you have harsh winters with many thaw/freeze cycles, significant snow accrual and the possibility of freezing rain events becoming ice on the mesh surface, your sleep will be more restful without a cover. The mesh cover will become frozen and trapped at the ice/snow interface, and in the Spring, removing it once the ice is gone, is like hauling in a fish seine. A mesh cover is useful to prevent vegetation from falling in, but should be removed a few days before the water freezes. Once it is removed, you can always use a leaf bag to keep the pool clean until the ice forms. Any leaves that accumulate after the ice forms are of no consequence until the ice fully melts In the Spring. I use a leaf bag to remove large debris in early Spring, pushing the ‘iceberg‘ around to reach all the pool surfaces.