There are a number of ways to make keeping your pond maintenance more efficient without the outrageous price your handyman puts on the job. The first problem of fine leaved Honey Locust leaves could be solved by making a screen sided or mesh sided basket to put into the top section of the pond to collect the leaves. Just leave it in place between cleanings. If you are handy, the screen sided bucket is simple enough but premade mesh fish nets come in some rather large sizes and shaping the handle to serve as a cup type handle is easy enough as is making some sort of shelf to hold the net in place. Just lift the net out by the handle, let the water drain back if it is sufficiently clear and dump the leaves out. I am putting in a link for a website that happens to show several products on the same page that would do a good job of cleaning the mulm under the bottom drain. The fish capture nets are there, too. The Muck Vac is about as simple as it gets. The price is a bit steep but it works. All you need is 50 lbs water pressure in the hose. The leaf vac uses a bag to catch debris and I use one to collect leaves on the bottom. It isn't as good for mulm unless you get the extra bags for that purpose. The price is hard to beat. It adds water to your pond so prepare as for a water change. The Python pond vac is a more elaborate version of the Muck vac designed to collect leaves and mulm. It is more difficult to get into tight places and I have a problem opening and closing the jar that collects the debris because my hands hurt a lot. The pond vacuum on this page is pretty expensive but you can get a garage(utility)vac with a continuous flow(water)discharge for between $75 and $90. It works, too. Just add a hose to run the water to the garden. I got one at Walmart and I've seen them at Lowes, Menards, etc. It took me a while to get the hang of it but Horton came through for me with proper instructions. UV, UV. Hum-mm. I don't see anywhere the flow rate would be low enough to let the UV work. I see you have valves all through the system that makes in-line space at a premium even if it lets you adjust the flow. It seems to me that adding another pipe with a valve to control that flow would make the system complicated to the point of maintenance inefficiency and it would certainly raise the scream level. Maybe I am wrong. Since you are going to move, I would use a small submersible pump and a stand alone UV + filter. It might even be possible to get by with only the sponge included prefilter to protect the pump. The object is to increase dwell time to allow the UV time to work. You can get small fountain pumps for cheap. Try Harbour Freight.I found the UV and filter from Laguna on sale for 45 bucks. several years ago. That screwdriver must be a sign of ingenuity or ineptitude. I don't know which. One of these days you will laugh at it. In a number of stores I see wire shelves that are stackable in the laundry and storage departments. I don't see how deep the hole is but I bet you could find one of those shelves that would fit close enough. You might need to do a bit of bending or cutting. Please do not put stones on the bottom of the pond. It will make cleaning an impossible task and eventually the water will become stinky. Now I will let the smart guys take over. I still like your pond. Sandy Here is a link that might be useful: Simple inexpensive ideas that work well

Wow I am having a hard time with some of these answers. The feedback is wonderful, but the harsh rants about my putting form over function and the garbage comment feel very uncalled for. LWO, you apparently did not even read my posts correctly and missed the fact that I am moving my kitchen OUT of my entry. If you are going to criticize, which is, after all, what I asked for, please realize that you know nothing about me and ask before you rip apart motivations you do not understand. I have no romantic notions about ranges in islands. I have lived in houses with wall ranges and island ranges, with young children, and know that for MY lifestyle, an island range would be ideal. This is based on PRACTICAL considerations and experience, not TV or magazine imagery. Yes, I will have a 30" x 42" hood with a 1200 cfm blower. Regardless of percentages of prep vs. cooking, this is what works for me and is a key element of my design. I have no issues explaining why this is, as you all have valid points as to the drawbacks. LWO, you may have good considerations, but the way you worded them was very hostile and uncalled for. We have different opinions and habits and I expect mine to be treated respectfully too. Buehl, thank you so much for your thoughtful post. I would love to see a sketch if you have time! I see the point abut the space between sink and stove. Maybe I could put a small prep sink in the island like you suggested? I like that idea a lot. Maybe we could fit my main sink under the left window - do they make corner sinks? - and center my fridge between the windows. Or leave it to the left but put in cabs next to it, and then a stacked TO/MW? I am not sure that I have room to push that countertop further into the mudroom. As I planned it, the stacked W/D will be against the back wall, and I can't shove it directly again the mudroom sink as I need some cabinet space to store laundry detergent and cleaning supplies. That hampers me a little in the kitchen area. If I put my kitchen sink under the left window, could I put it right against the counter corner, or would that make it very uncomfortable to work at? Shannonplus2, I do understand that island cooking is not like on TV. But as it is, I cook on my island and look out to check on the kids frequently. The problem is that I have to step away from the stove to do this, since the kitchen right now is in that entry room! It's funny but most of the ideas you all have suggested, mirror my current kitchen layout which is a galley design as Lisa_a sketched above. This remodels coming about more because I need a mudroom and laundry room, plus all the kitchen cabs and appliances are dying or dead, and I don't really care for large rectangular islands, for some reason the L shaped ones work better for me (my mom has the big rectangle and it is too big a stretch across for a shorty like me, but so long that it's not as cozy to work together in the kitchen). So, I am trying to keep what I...

I'm not sure I could rewire it myself. I can't figure out how to separate the socket and wiring from the decorative part. I bought this light at a rummage sale for $7 and I am pretty sure it was wired in the 70s, judging from the plug. It is vintage. This isn't my only vintage lamp in the house (I have a thing for them, it seems), so it would be nice to find someone (and maybe I should check the others to see if they are ok). I haven't been able to find an independent light store. The guy who laid our floors told me he knows a lot of people for projects, maybe I'll ask him. It has to be easier and cheaper to rewire a lamp than buy a new one.

I swear nobody around here has heard of core aerating. I want to move there! Far too many people here think it is a panacea and solution to hard soil. Instead of clinging to that crutch, try this. Spray shampoo at a rate of 100 cc per 100 square meters. Your English is so good I'm going to assume you're a Yank living overseas. That converts to 3 ounces per 1000 square feet. Then water 1/2 inch to 1 inch and give it 3 weeks for the magic to happen. Since you're already feeding with organics, it should work quickly. I think your soil test is going to provide the solution. I am often luke warm on soil tests unless you've done all the organic stuff and it didn't work. Something isn't right and I'm going to guess it is salt balance. It could be something worse like too much boron or copper in the soil. The soils in the upper desert of Southern California are too rich in boron to be a good place for plants. Those micro nutrients are good up to a point and then they become a poison. Waiting until May should be fine for fertilizing. Fertilizing early with organics should not have been a big problem. The way they work the microbes would have begun slowly converting the protein into plant food for the plants as needed. Do you reseed the thin areas every fall? If your climate is anything like western Washington, you might be able to seed in the spring and not get summer weeds. How warm does it get in the summer?