The Pond Lovers

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 Loversis 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 inThe Pond Loversmostly 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 Loversbrims with lessons and opportunities for good work and good play--for backyard naturalists, do-it-yourselfers, and armchair gardeners.

Gene Logsdon farms on thirty-two acres in Upper Sandusky, Ohio, a mile from his boyhood home. He is the author of more than twenty books, including a novel, The Lords of Folly; a cultural study, The Mother of All the Arts; and a discourse of pasture farming, All Flesh Is Grass. Logsdon has also written hundreds of essays for such publications as Utne magazine, Mother Jones, Orion, and Whole Earth Review.