response to water garden

Thanks to all who responded with advice, comments and caveats concerning
my water garden.  To Loren, especially, thanks for the idea of getting
fish already acclimated to living outdoors in a pond.  I just got six
goldfish from my boss's pond.  So far they seem quite happy &
comfortable.  It remains to be seen how well they'll fair as time goes
by, but he has alot of fish so I can always restock.  I'm hopeful that I
won't be attracting feral cats or wretched herons, etc.; just
eliminating mosquitos & creating an ecosystem.

Speaking of less desirable wildlife, I have a young possum who hangs
around in my garden every night.  I don't want the little bugger there.
I guess they can carry fleas and diseases that my cat may pick up--I've
thrown gravel at him, banged on the fence with a broom handle, and
yelled and waved my arms, and he seems barely disconcerted...just moves
over a bit on the fence, or slowly lumbers behind a shrub, but he's
always back.  What attracts them?  I don't have garbage or cat food out
there.  He doesn't appear to have damaged any plants or roses or eaten
tomatoes or anything.  What is it that they do to damage a garden?
(Someone mentioned them eating roses, I think.)  A friend of a friend
had an entire extended family of possums move in under her house in the
crawl space, unbeknownst to her, until she turned on the heat this fall
and was blasted with this horrible foul odor from them defecating &
urinating in the crawl space.  They'd even gotten into some furnace
ductwork. I checked my crawl space screens to make sure they're secure.
Should I worry about this one guy, or is he the scout that will bring
his kin?  I'll save the postings on deterents in case I need them. Wendy
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