Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Pond vote; election primaries

I definitely get it.

My reasons for owning a pond:

1. To be able to closely observe how biological systems work. These things fascinate me, and give me insight into how human systems work.

2. To be able to provide entertainment, in the form of fishing, to some of my family members.

3. To give myself some much needed mental time away from work. When I'm doing pond tasks I'm not dwelling on my job.

4. For those wonderful moments when I put the hoe and shovel away and just stand over the property in awe of it's beauty.

I thought we were going to tinfoil hats for a second.

1. Ponds transcend the generation gap. Where my granddaughter would normally say "papaw, why are you wearing that dorky straw hat?...Instead she might say "nice fishing hat, papaw". Though my sons still say I look like farmer Brown.

2. Ponds allow you to spend lots of money on 'stuff' and somehow be able to reconcile it with yourself (not to mention the boss).

...it took this long for the Jack & 7's to kick in?

I would like it noted for the official record that since my reason(s) for owning a pond were previously stated that I have refrained from voting and will, as instructed by our esteemed Brettski, wait until phase 2 to cast my ballot. And assuming that their are no floating chads, will await the final official talley. And further would like it recorded for posterity that I did not in any way post anything to this thread that could be construed as thread jacking, unless of course you include the floating chad remark would I don't think should count since it of course relates to voting results.

For me it is doing something different, it's a hobby which includes other hobbies, it's a front room when I have people over, it's an intentional obligation that requires my attention, it is intended to allow me to feel a sense of accomplishment by setting out goals and objectives to work towards and it filled a need to be of some use to what was around me.
I mean raising all of those fish, frogs, toads and turtles plus trying to decide in a split second if that snake in poisonous, the feeling you get when you know you have been poached, or watching the heron eat your babies, I don't know that I fully anticipated those things, but I knew there would be a great deal of self reveal connected to the process. I also know that it is a rewarding endeavor as I am now planning another pond.

That's what my late F-I-L called "therapy"; I should have thought to list it, 'cause it's the most important reason for me.

Hmmm...kinda sounds like Ed Harris in The Abyss. You just gotta have faith.

To see the smiles it brings to my Family,Friends,Neighbors, and even strangers faces who get to enjoy it.

NUMBRO UNO REZONE
"CAUSE I WANT ONE"

NUMBRO DOS REZONE
"I WAS BORN WITH POND FEVER IT'S IN MY BLOOD STREAM"

WATER IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SUBSTANCE IN THE WORLD. WITHOUT IT WE WOULDN'T HAVE A WORLD. WITHOUT IT WE WOULDN'T BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION.

Bski I think this is a repeat from a thread a few years back, seems like it has been discussed before.. Very interesting to see folks perspective.

Oh Sunil, I know what you mean by the vertical interface. I was fishing in a small boat on the ocean once with 10 foot swells. From the boat the swells looked like a vertical wall of water. I could see the fish in the swells and some times they were above my head with my fishing line going out horizontally and sometimes even sloping upward. I could watch the fish hit the lure just like looking into an aquarium. It was weird!

The original reasons I built my pond were:
1. A source of black dirt and fill for my yard.
2. Improve the view in my back yard.
3. Lower my homeowners insurance (ready source of water for fire department.

Then somehow I got the idea to put fish in the pond, and life changed.

Ground Water Recharging (I know, it's a foreign concept to those who fill their pond with a well)

Theo...
Is there any point at which your brain begins to hurt?

Backwards type I sometimes, but, no.

I want to live by the ocean, but it's 250 miles away.
So I have a pond.

Theo, thanks for the Yoda impersonation, but no thanks!

These may deserve a vote
http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=73021&fpart=1

Thanks, Rocky-T...I thought I kinda remembered something about this subject from a previous thread. Thank God it's only a one-pager. I'll incorporate it when I boil this thread down.

OK, here is the first rough draft of the "reasons to own a pond". I copied all the input to a Word doc and started to match up similar ideas, condensing them into one larger statement. The goal is to provide many voting options with as few candidates as practicable. As much as I tried to be inclusive of all data, I expect that there may be some difficulty seeing some specific input condensed into a larger category. I apologize and welcome comment for either my explanation or amendment.
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There were some ideas that were, indeed, original and didn't really have similar thoughts to be condensed with. I included these as stand alone reasons. I would like everyone to review this list and provide thoughtful input. Should any category be nixed? ...further condensed? ...or, further expanded?
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Finally, we're not done. Heck the last reason on this first draft popped into my mind while I was creating it. (yeah, I know Burger...that's the one that should be nixed). We are gonna let this play out a few more days to see what shakes.
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Quality private fishery
To enhance land value
Ornamental landscaping
Provide affordable and convenient water frontage real estate
To attract wildlife for hunting
To attract wildlife for viewing and/or preservation
Fish hatchery
Swimming hole
To study aquaculture
To study all of nature and/or biology
To water livestock
To irrigate crops
To provide powered water sports (ie; skiing, jetski)
To provide non-powered water sports (ie; canoeing, rowing)
To provide escape, peace, and relaxation (therapeutic or otherwise)
Reduce local insect population (fish eat bugs)
Erosion control
To create and enjoy the sounds of moving water (ie; waterfall)
A family or personal challenge of actually building it
A family or personal challenge to maintain a complex ecosystem
To provide safe, fresh fish as food
Water source for fire fighting
A fun place to gather with family and friends
Create a legacy to pass on to generations to follow
A place for physical exercise
Create a place to pay homage to the Higher Authority
To transcend generation gaps
A hobby that justifies substantial personal and monetary investment
To provide soil for use elsewhere
Recharge the groundwater
Provide water based utilities to a home

for the chicks man....the chicks!!!

To teach my children things they will never learn in school and hopefully remember for the rest of their life

geothermal A/C heat sink

Hey Darryl,
Thanks for kickin' in. Can I ask you if:
To teach my children things they will never learn in school and hopefully remember for the rest of their life
might fit under A family or personal challenge to maintain a complex ecosystem
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geothermal A/C heat sink might fit under Provide water based utilities to a home
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Your reasons are very good, but I'm striving to keep the candidate list pared down to broader categories. whaddayathink?
(btw, we are honored that you would spend your 7th post to participate in our project. This is what it's all about...ALL the forum members).
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Sr McB...your dashing good looks and sexually mesmerising gyrations will likely attract any and all available chicks, leaving the rest of us with only the list and the Sunday paper. It would be unfair to taunt us with the empty promise of many chicks. Therefore, your request is respectfully denied.

Some of this stuff is D-E-E-E-E-P. Some of it is getting piled pretty high.

Our ponds for me are mainly a “means to an end:
1 Therapy
2.Fishing
3.Fishing

Non repetitive duplication rule respectively ignored...