To his legions of readers, Gene Logsdon is best known as the Contrary Farmer. His writings, which blend commonsense advice, curmudgeonly wit, and respect for the earth, are manna to anyone who wants to live, as Logsdon puts it, "at nature's pace."
The Pond Lovers is Logsdon's ode to the watery microcosms all around us, from the half-acre farm pond to the suburban garden pool. Readers looking for hands-on experience will find plenty of pond-keeping dos and don'ts. Logsdon's higher purpose, however, is to proclaim the natural, spiritual, and recreational benefits of ponds.
Fed by spring or filled by rainfall, the ponds closest to Logsdon's heart need minimal human interference in the way of machinery or chemicals. Those we read about in The Pond Lovers mostly belong to Logsdon's friends and neighbors, an extraordinarily resourceful group of people. For them, a pond is many things—from a place to fish, swim, or skate to an oasis for local plants, insects, and animals. Each purpose, Logsdon shows us, has its place in a thoughtful, self-sufficient life. Throughout, Logsdon also reminds us of the intense personal connections to ponds of such creative giants as Claude Monet, Andrew Wyeth, and Henry David Thoreau.
Drawn from many and varied lifetimes spent around ponds, The Pond Lovers brims with lessons and opportunities for good work and good play—for backyard naturalists, do-it-yourselfers, and armchair gardeners.
| Acknowledgments | ||
| Introduction | 1 | |
| The Pond at the Center of a Family's Universe | 4 | |
| A Pasture Pond | 16 | |
| A Modern Thoreau beside a Modern Walden Pond | 37 | |
| Andrew Wyeth's Pond | 50 | |
| The House of Seven Ponds | 61 | |
| An Amish Bishop's Swimmin' Hole | 70 | |
| Jandy's Pond | 77 | |
| A Wild Food Gatherer's Garden Pools | 86 | |
| Hillside Catchment Ponds | 93 | |
| Ponds as Sustaining Food Cupboards | 103 | |
| Ponds and Sustainable Technology | 125 | |
| Strings of Pearly Pools | 139 | |
| Shambaugh Pond | 154 | |
| Appendix | 163 |
Anonymous
Posted April 24, 2004
Each chapter talks about different ponds and how they came to be. This book really made me appreciate the value of having a pond no matter what size. Can't wait to have one someday! Very educational.
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Overview
To his legions of readers, Gene Logsdon is best known as the Contrary Farmer. His writings, which blend commonsense advice, curmudgeonly wit, and respect for the earth, are manna to anyone who wants to live, as Logsdon puts it, "at nature's pace."
The Pond Lovers is Logsdon's ode to the watery microcosms all around us, from the half-acre farm pond to the suburban garden pool. Readers looking for hands-on experience will find plenty of pond-keeping dos and don'ts. Logsdon's ...