The Pond Lovers is a sustainable farmer'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. Gene 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. 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.