I do some traveling for work. Rarely more than a couple weeks straight and not much more than a couple months worth at a time. I hate to be away from the pond (and home, of course), but a timer on the aeration pump and an automatic fish feeder holds down the fort while I'm gone. It's good to have a neighbor and/or spouse that can reset the timer if the power should go out for any length of time and stop by once in a while to make sure feed is coming out of the feeder, but not a loosing situation if let go a few days either.

I did miss out last summer on fishing the pond for sampling the populations, but the pond did not collapse into the abyss.

That's my auto-pilot when needed for the pond season. Wintertime does not have the need as I don't worry too much about keeping the Central Missouri ice open.

Fish on!,
Noel