Family with a capital F! (Hopefully you noticed our cover and didn’t immediately open the issue to read my column first.) What a great experience John Magyar and his son Elijah had working together to create a memorial pond and waterfall for John’s mother. What a priceless time to bond with your son and also learn from the experience. Pond building is such a great trade to share with your children and develop the next generation of pond artisans.
And, as you can see from the photo, I’ve become a GRANDMA since I last wrote my column. My son and daughter-in-law welcomed Miles Edward Gelles into the world in May 2022. I’m looking forward to sharing my pond with Miles when he is old enough to look for frogs and touch the fish!
This issue has loads of good articles that will help you wade into the summer season. Mark Gibson wrote an informative article about customer contracts that every pond builder needs to read. It’s so important to get all the details down in writing and get it signed before you set foot in a customer’s yard. You won’t want to overlook the essential things Mark includes in all of his contracts.
I also enjoyed Demi Fortuna’s lengthy article on pond filtration and Jim Kennedy’s profile on cyanobacteria and toxic algae blooms. Finally, let’s all welcome back Kent Wallace, who is BACK with a new segment of Best Pond Practices. We’ve been waiting almost two years for the construction of Kent’s client’s tea house to be completed, and we are thrilled to finally run the article. What a beautiful undertaking!
Happy PONDering!
