The best thing you can do for pond fish is to give them plenty of plants for hiding, and to add some simple structures in the deepest part of the pond. One good idea is to lay a length of terra cotta pipe or even large PVC pipe in the middle of the pond. Terra cotta is nicer looking and will eventually get enough algae,etc, on it to blend in. A large flower pot turned on its side will help, too. But the pipe helps a lot. Fish will scoot right in there when being threatened by raccoons, etc. They could probably even hide from an anhinga in there. White Birds 101: The largest white wading bird in your part of the state is the great egret. He will tower over the other white birds, being nearly as big as a great blue heron. The smaller white waders will usually be either immature little blue herons (grayish beak with a dark tip) or snowy egrets, who have bright yellow feet. That makes them pretty easy to ID. Then you have white ibis, with long downcurved pink beaks, and cattle egrets, who are the shortest of them all, and seen more often in pastures and along the roads. And there you have it. That's everybody except wood storks which are HUGE and have massive blackish beaks and heads, and aren't easily confused with anything else. Anna, your green heron picture is beautiful! Some time back, these were called Little Green Herons (we always said it was because they had very little green on them, haha). But then they dropped the "little" for some reason. They are very clever and adaptable little birds. I used to watch one at the Periwinkle Trailer Park swan pond on Sanibel Island who had perfected the art of fishing with the pelletized bird food. He would take a couple of pellets out of the dish, go over to the water's edge and drop them in. Then he just waited for the all the little fishies to come nibble at the floating food. He had his technique perfected and was a very successful fisherbird. You both have such lovely natural areas in your yards, where you can really enjoy nature when you garden! I swear, I'm going to get my horse trough next month, for sure. It will make a perfect birthday present. And then I can at least have a few goldfish and a lotus or two. Marcia

I had the same thing happen to an early girl in a 5-gallon bucket. It got huge; I enjoyed tomatoes for a couple of months...and then the heat got it. It still looks ok, but now the tomatoes all have tough skin, no meat, and the sweetness has dropped. I knew this was coming, and had stacked concrete blocks around the bucket to shade it, but with air temps around 100 degrees, there is just no way to keep the roots cool. Next year, when the temp rises to 95 or so, I might literally bury the entire bucket in the ground. There is just no way to container-grow tomatoes in 100 degree heat, or at least tomatoes that live up to my expectations for flavor. If a hole in the ground is not an option and I absolutely had to make it work, I would build a 2x4 and plywood box with holes in the top for the buckets to set down into, insulate it, and then stick a window unit ac in the side of the box. It would be ugly as sin but I think it would work. Those roots have to stay cool. Shade helps, but when the air temps are over 90, your roots will not be happy. Container growing is great for when it's not too hot. I am starting to think of it as a seasonal thing. It's easy in the spring, but just too difficult in the summer heat. Congratulations on the success you did have. It sounds like you had as much fun as me :)

Holes can heal on their own.....when a blood clot seals the small hole. (I "had" a dental assist. cert. at one time) 3 months is usual to wait and see...if it heals on it's own. Then surgery to close it. If there's an infection...? ....then Antibiotics should be taken prior to treatment. This is NOT to be taken lightly. Your dentist's receptionist should be calling YOU for updates, to put in your records and relay to the dentist who's over seeing your procedure.

I've had 2 pulled in the last year, and I had to BEG him to pull instead of root canal/crown. I didn't want to spend the $$$ on that or have to sit through it, plus I don't know anyone that hasn't had trouble w/ root canals. My dentist broke some of the roots off and had to surgically remove them, and of course, as bad as that sounds, I didn't feel a thing. One I had stitches with. I'm sure they told you, when you use that salt rinse DO NOT spit it out, just let it fall out of your mouth. No straws. Do everything to prevent a dry socket--believe me, you don't want that. I had one once years ago w/ a wisdom tooth.