Every morning and most evenings, I find time to watch my pond and fish friends. Yes, they are all named. I think about the everyday stress that we live with, we hear in the news, and we see around us, and I think how lucky I am to have my pond. It slows me down and helps me think beyond the daily grind. I watch friends and family stress out from their lives and wish they could have the peace I find in my pond. People talk to me all the time about how they won’t get connected to their fish or they don’t care if the pond is close to the house or far out in a corner of their property away from the home. Then, as we talk, the pond gets closer to their home so they can HEAR and see it more. We go to visit the customer after the pond has been installed for a few weeks, and they tell us about the neat thing Sunshine or Tang are doing in the pond. The fish they didn’t care about are now named!! This year everyone fought with the green monster ALGAE, and in time, most won the battle. Remember, as the temps drop for the fall months, you need to add bacteria and S.A.B. to the ponds to keep them Algae free. Stop feeding the fish when the water drops below 55 degrees or less and give our office a call about winter prep for the pond. Then, don’t forget the drought that we are still in unless we get SNOW! Some ponds were dropping over 4” of water daily due to the heat and dryness in the air. For all the fun you get from your pond, you do get a few challenges to keep you on our toes and helping Mother Nature. For all your pond needs we are open all year long with Aquascape products. Don’t forget to watch our website for new information. Thanks for letting us serve you and all your water gardening needs. It has truly been our pleasure.

For the past year, Pond Professors has been part of the Aquascape's Certified Contractor Program. Each year, the contractors are required to maintain a level of ongoing education points along with installation of a minimum number of ponds. Pond Professors attended many different education seminars last winter and spring, and a four day event in the summer of 2003. Along with these different educational training courses, we sponsored this years Parade of Ponds in the local area. Pond Professors currently has over 100 ponds installed. During the 2003 spring/summer we installed ponds in Rockford, Bellville, Milwaukee Suburbs, Rock, Dane, Jefferson Counties, and surrounding area’s. Being the only certified contractor in the state south of Green Bay, we are being requested in many different cities. This year we were one of the first contractors to install a wetland filter system on a 140,000 gallon pond which cleared it in 7-10 days. Another new product we installed in the local community is the Pondless waterfall system. This system gives all the fun of a waterfall in a space that doesn’t allow for a full pond. Completely Maintenance FREE!!

Wisconsin South Central Area Pond EnthusiastS is the water gardening club that everyone is talking about. Have you heard about them? Did you go on the Parade of Ponds this year that the club hosted? If you missed the parade, you missed a great time. The club is a ever growing group of people who in a relaxed environment enjoy talking and sharing tips, photos, and information about water gardening. The group gathered at different members homes this year to share the joy of pond ownership. Each month they met to share fun and information about plants, fish and water features. The club enjoyed going to Chicago to see the Aquascapes' company headquarters along with touring the home of Greg Wittock the owner of Aquascape Designs', Inc. and his property. The group enjoyed a bus ride tour of many different homes in the Chicago area to see all different styles and sizes of ponds built by Aquascapes. This year, the club toured Windy Oaks Aquatics, the growing greenhouses and enjoyed a one on one personal meeting with the owner and her staff to help with plantings for their watergardens. Club membership has been growing and is still open to all that have an interest in sharing the fun of pond ownership along with those looking for answers to their questions from those that have had ponds for years. For more information, check out the club website at www.pondprofessors.com/wscapes

Kimberly and Scott Story, in the Fall of 2003, purchased a franchise to add to their business for the winter season. We will be opening a new division called Northern Lights and Displays. This division installs and custom designs Christmas and special event lighting on homes, commercial properties, trees and landscape bushes for their customers. The service we will be providing is sale of commercial grade light sets, installation, removal and storage of the lights for each customer at our warehouse. Then, the next year, we will simply reinstall the lights after they have been completely checked to make sure they work. This service part of the company will offer installation from October 1st to December 15th and removal from January 15th to February with storage for all customers at no extra charge. Special event lighting of homes, trees and other items is offered for all parties, weddings, and family events. For more information, contact our office at (608) 758-1979. All estimates are Free of Charge.