A brief moment to philosophize

Over the past eight years, we have slowly but surely progressed from a
prefab 90 to a 150 to a 4,000 to a 10,000 gallon brick pond. The
biggest one took this entire summer, on and off, with me acting as
General Contractor (thanks to the advice I got from all of you kind
people) supervising 3 masons, 3 landscapers and an excavator. Despite
all of the hard work (and the time missed from my "real" work),
tonight it all came into focus. As my 7-year-old son and I watched
the Koi eat, he smiled and said spontaneously "Dad, it's like watching
a beautiful ballet of color". That one statement from the mouth (and
heart) of a child made the whole project worthwhile for me (and more
importantly, for him!).

This hobby provides a welcomed respite from the "real" world for all
of us and a great source of relaxation and a chance to forget about
our troubles, even if only for a little while. For all of you
newbies, STICK WITH IT. The problems (from sick fish to algae to
leaks to who knows what) you have along the way will all work out and
you WILL get that PERFECT pond that you are hoping for. When you do,
it will have been worth the effort.

Then, when the sun goes down and you can no longer watch your fish
swim, sign on to this newsgroup and share your positive experiences
and your concerns with all of us. We will be glad to share the fun
times with you and help answer your questions to the best of our
ability. On balance, this hobby is one of nature's rewards to all of
us.