Revised and expanded this year from the original 2000 edition, Creative Homeowner’s Complete Guide to Water Gardens, Ponds, and Fountains is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide on how to plan, construct, and maintain your own pond or water garden. As we’re getting into the really hot season here in Texas, we thought it was a good time to look at escaping some of the heat by contructing your own backyard utopia (read: shade, moisture).

The Complete Guide is practical and easy to read, providing need-to-know details on all the important steps from deciding what type of water garden or pond will suit your lifestyle to the down-and-dirty installation of pumps and filters. It also addresses how to go about choosing the design and construction of your pond, how to select and introduce a variety of critters and colorful plants, how to measure and maintain water quality, and how to perform seasonal tasks that keep your water garden dynamic and vivid throughout the year.

Copious illustrations and photographs are provided to inspire and to inform, including stylistic tips on adding aesthetic elements like fountains and lighting. Detailed photos showing the actual construction and setup of several types of ponds are provided, along with difficulty ratings to help you decide in advance how much effort it’ll require to meet your goals.

The Guide is most informative when it comes to things we novices might not have thought of, such as simple tips on the physical and chemical interaction of plants and animals with the water, what common mistakes to look out for (proper sun/shade/temperature), and even advice on how to make small container ponds.

Either way, whether you’re a beginner like us or an advanced ecological expert, the Guide is an excellent resource for learning all the basics about planning, installing, and maintaining your own backyard haven.

The list price for the Guide is $19.99, but we found it new online for $12.97, and used copies are available starting just under $12.

Fisher, Kathleen. Complete Guide to Water Gardens, Ponds, & Fountains. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Creative Homeowner, 2006. (Softcover) ISBN: 1580111831

The Complete Guide to Water Gardens, Ponds, and Fountains [Froogle]

Ok, our copy isn’t so “new.”  It was a gift years ago to help with the difficulties of living on one’s own.  You know, things like a busted clothes dryer and a VCR that quits right when you don’t have money for a new one.

The ‘Manual starts with a well-illustrated description of how to assemble a basic household toolkit with items such as:

• measuring and marking tools
• fastening and unfastening tools
• gripping tools
• cutting and shaping tools
• and safety equipment

It then goes on to give the reader a basic introduction to the use of each family of tools along with all the most important do’s and don’ts. 

Finally, it gets down to the nuts-and-bolts processes of troubleshooting, disassembling, repairing, and reassembling just about every item you’ll find around your home, including:

• carpets/rugs
• doorbells
• jewelry
• furniture
• plumbing
• small and large appliances
• home electronics
• yard and workshop tools
• and sports and recreation gear

Each description includes a problem-and-cause troubleshooting chart, exploded and/or cutaway views of the item, and detailed step-by-step instructions on disassembly and reassembly.  They also take the time to indicate the minor differences you’re likely to find between your item and the one described.

We wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who’d like to take more control of their home repair situation or as a gift to someone just starting out.  It demystifies a lot of the tasks required of new homeowners.  It’s $23.10 from Amazon right now (new), and as of this writing they have used copies available starting at $7.50.  We always see a few at the used bookstore.

New Fix-It-Yourself Manual: How to Repair, Clean, and Maintain Anything and Everything in and Around Your Home. Ed. Joseph Gonzalez, et. al. Pleasantville, NY: Reader’s Digest Association, 1996. (Hardcover) ISBN: 0895778718

Used/New Copies [Amazon]
Used Copies [Half.com]

In the book Tools: Making Things Around The World, author Hubert Comte presents photos of and the stories behind tools used around the world to make things from materials such as wood, stone, metal, glass, leather, and even food. 

A doctor of art history specializing in the “philosophy of tools,” Comte presents a visually appealing collection of photographs, diagrams, drawings, articles, and even literary quotes which situate each tool in a unique time and place. Tools examines the evolution of the human and natural origins of tools, categorizing them by the materials and industries with which they are associated, such as agriculture, textiles, wood, metal, etc. The book offers a decidedly international look at all forms of tools used by people from prehistory to the modern day.

It’s a large-format “coffee-table” book with copious dramatic and beautiful photographs, but what really makes Tools stand out is the way Comte recognizes the never-ending husbandry of the tool world: the way tools are used to make tools, which are then used to make other tools.  Starting each time within a group of tools used to work a specific material, he follows each tool’s distinct lineage to give the reader rare insight into the material, the tool, and even the people who use it.

For example, Comte begins with one of the most common materials: wood.  His journey begins with the tools used by lumberjacks to harvest the wood, then follows this line of thinking through the creation of the ax.  The ax leads to tools such as the scorer (used for marking wood), and the saw-set, which leads to the creation of saws. By the time he reaches modern carpentry, he’s covered dozens of professions and their kits of unique tools like the clogmaker’s gouge, the cooper’s (barrelmaker’s) hammer, and the cabinetmaker’s miter box.

This book serves as reference, entertainment, and textbook material alike.  It comes off the shelf often when we’re trying to determine the purpose of a found tool, or even just for light, fun, reading.

Tools‘ cover price is $75, but used copies are readily available online for a quarter of that, and this book seems to turn up often at Half-Price Books and other used bookstores.

Comte, Hubert. Tools: Making Things Around the World. Trans. Molly Stevens and David Marinelli. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1997. (Hardcover, 352 pages) ISBN: 0810938995

New/Used Copies [Amazon.com]
Used Copies [Half.com]