Sometimes a small job can be made so much worse, Last week a pond clean out that should have taken the two guys about three hours stretched into an day project. This was accomplished because the builder of the pond didn't get the correct information on how or why to add gravel in the bottom. I feel that almost any pond can be more beautiful with the addition of gravel, however some ponds are not built in a way that can accommodate gravel. Some ponds are too steep, or thin shelved or deep , but the most common problem I see with gravel is that it is just too deep. The pond last week had over 9 inches of gravel along with sand, and dirt. This made a pretty solid base of muck and mire. The removal was a big job. This could have been avoided if the landscaper who installed the pond would have carried off the extra gravel and sand ( He probably didn't see any harm in raising the bottom ) .....Well when the guys finished it looked great !

Minimal planting

Sometimes the simple way is the best.At Pondman We sometimes get into a rut/certain way of doing things. We have gotten into the habit of planting as many plants as we can fit into the landscape.Now with the emphasis on water usage we are looking at different ways to decorate around the pond. As this one shows , minimal planting can work , if there is enough around the feature to balance out the look.

This is turning out to be a interesting year interms of what type of calls we are getting for work.A bunch of calls from the San Diego area for maintenance or service of some kind. Calls from the Riverside area for small waterfeatures. Calls for pool to pond rebuilds in the desert. What next

Crestline was Cool

We recently completed a fun pond project in Crestline. This 40 ft stream with several drops flows into a great 20 ft pond, and then under a bridge where it continues for another 20 feet and sinks into the ground, only to re-circulate back at the top again. Another thing that made this so fun was the fact that it is located in a camp ground that has kids from ( off the mountain ) up for the week to enjoy and learn. This gave me an on going opportunity to share what it was that we were doing and see how much the kids enjoyed the mountain.

A bio falls was tucked under this booby trap and we were sure to get poked by the thing.
Ben seems to enjoy some of the gunkiest parts of the clean out the most!

Rancho Bernardo

We recently finished this 35ft + double waterfall into a swimming pool in Rancho Bernardo ( a suburb of San Diego)
This was a fun project we will need to spend a couple of hours tweaking the falls , but besides that were done.

We are starting to do our new year clean outs, and finding that people still need things are are still going to get them. This recession is slowing things down , but it wont stop things. I intend to go on with business, Ok it will be a little subdued, but it will go on none the less. I expect my dollar numbers to change but this doesn't imply that it wont be a profitable year. We like so many others will find a new and improved way of doing things and find a way to make money at the same time.