I don't have a bottom drain. I tried a retrofit bottom drain, but had the problem of it sucking up fish, some pretty large ones. So I did exactly what you are considering. My 2 in. pipe runs down the side of the pond and I have an elbow then a piece of 2 in. pipe laying across the bottom of the pond. I have a cap on it and have holes drilled along the pipe across the bottom. Holes are about 1/2 to 3/4 in. can't remember exactly. Spaced about 6 in. apart and staggered, so that the holes on one side aren't opposite the holes on the other side. I think it works perfectly, because I have not had any fish sucked up except the little tiny bluegills that had already died. I get a lot of crud that accumulates in the basket that I empty and wash out about once a week. This goes to the bottom of the bog filter and is forced up through the gravel and returns to the pond via a waterfall. Glenda

If you want to go out and buy one of those impact sprinklers with a motion detector on it that shoots a back-and-forth of water when it detects motion, you'll not only deter the birds, but you'll be keeping your seeded lawn damp, which is good for it. I wish I could think of the brand name, It might be called a scarecrow, but i'm not 100% sure.

I have been fighting the four-lined bug for about 5 years. I spray the small red ones with insecticidal soap and I also squish them when I am feeling fast. The older ones are yellow/green and black and have wings. Their population was greatly reduced this year I believe due to my fall clean-up last year. I cut off most of my perennials to the ground and threw the debris in the woods behind my house. The adults lay their eggs in the plant stalks in the fall. This bug will ruin the looks of many different plant, not just mint. It is a giant enemy in my yard and I have declared war. I search for them everyday and take great joy in squishing them. I will continue to cut back in fall. My neighbors have them too so I may never completely win. Good luck!

When I first got puppy Wilbur, I fretted about the grass-eating. Now, as long as he is not eating rocks, sticks, laundry pins and other fatal things, I flow with the grass and leaves, and in fact, hope the grass and leaves distract him from the goose poop. Just from my world. Also: he does seem to go through "moments" when he becomes obsessed with the above things, and I find it is a great opportunity to have a training session (after "drop" and "what a good boy!!!") with basic obedience and loose leash walking. My trainers say, also, when they are "rooting" like that, for the handler to be way more interesting than the world around them, so I try to further engage Wilbur in those times, distracting him with his favorite toys. That doesn't always work, but the training sessions do.