Hi folks--Check out these lovely fall pics from Bobbi's house. Happy Autumn!!!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Monday, October 24, 2011
A Highly Glamorous Time Was Had by All!!
Hey everyone--check out the costumes from Shirley's terrific Halloween Party. She goes all out for this Monster Mash--and it was a lot of fun. Thanks again, Shirley, for the invite!
We have Bobbi the Beeyoutiful Beekeeper, Jeff the host with the most, Kathy, Princess Lostalot of the Fukawee nation, Shirley, our hostess with the mostess, Hippy biker Jeff, Garden Goddess Sue and Gypsy Buscia, and Dewayne and Cindy--Erkel and Gertie on their first prom date, and Rob, the alien engineer from Area 51, and moi as the Mother of the Bridezilla.
Friday, October 7, 2011
A trip for the birds
Hi everyone. Thanks to Cindy for sharing this information. On Oct. 23 and 30 (both Sundays) there will be a bus trip to Jasper Pulaski Wildlife area to view the Sandhill Cranes. The fee for this is 7.00 per person, and the deadline to register is Oct. 17th. The bus will leave Bendix Woods at 3 pm and return home about 8:30, so people can view the evening influx of birds as they prepare to roost for the night. If my memory is correct, the autumn migration is larger than the spring one. JP has a very large viewing platform and informational stations that describe the birds' behaviour and natural history.
Sandhill Cranes were once nearly extinct, and their resurgence is one of the success stories of modern conservation. In our civilized lives we don't often get to witness mass migration. This is one of the few chances to actually view a large population of animals engaging in this most ancient of rituals. Other parts of the country have bison, salmon and elk populations that move in large groups over land or water, but here in the midwest our migratory species often go unnoticed. Seeing these majestic birds swinging across the darkening sky as they come in to their staging area for the night is an unforgettable sight.
The weather at that time will most likely be cold and may be less than fabulous, so dress appropriately. The parking lot is paved and easily accessible to the platform, so you most likely won't need boots, but you will be up fairly high in the air, so dress for the wind if its breezy. Since we will be out at dinnertime, bring a sack meal with you.
Dewayne, Cindy, Rob and I and maybe a few other folks are going to go--when I know which date I will post it here. If you want to register, call 574-654-3155.
Sandhill Cranes were once nearly extinct, and their resurgence is one of the success stories of modern conservation. In our civilized lives we don't often get to witness mass migration. This is one of the few chances to actually view a large population of animals engaging in this most ancient of rituals. Other parts of the country have bison, salmon and elk populations that move in large groups over land or water, but here in the midwest our migratory species often go unnoticed. Seeing these majestic birds swinging across the darkening sky as they come in to their staging area for the night is an unforgettable sight.
The weather at that time will most likely be cold and may be less than fabulous, so dress appropriately. The parking lot is paved and easily accessible to the platform, so you most likely won't need boots, but you will be up fairly high in the air, so dress for the wind if its breezy. Since we will be out at dinnertime, bring a sack meal with you.
Dewayne, Cindy, Rob and I and maybe a few other folks are going to go--when I know which date I will post it here. If you want to register, call 574-654-3155.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Maybe an outing????
Hey folks--Wonder of wonders, this year I actually remembered to look up the date for the Michiana Orchid Society show before it happened. This is a lovely small show at Holy Cross College, complete with a fun retail area where you can buy orchids and orchid related things from people who are passionate about these fascinating plants. I know Rob and I will go at some point, but I thought maybe we could set a time and make an outing of it. Nothing official--just show up at a certain time if you want to go and maybe we could have lunch together or something. Here is the link to the Society's page. Let me know what everyone thinks. Its a very nice way to spend some time. Nov, 11 and 12 (Fri and Sat) 10-5. We will most likely go on Sat.
Fearless
http://www.michianaorchidsociety.org/
Fearless
http://www.michianaorchidsociety.org/
Kathrican Safari
Hi folks--Great meeting! Thanks so much to Kathy for hosting us and feeding us and letting us watch her use her dining room table as a potting bench.
We started the evening out taking a tour round her yard--dodging round what has proven to be a statewide bumper crop of black walnuts. Kathy's yard is undergoing some transition--what once was a deeply shaded property has become much better lit, thanks to some heavy winds and a tree that decided it was time to "leave". The unhappy tenant picked itself up and exited the premises, root ball and all, leaving Kathy with a sudden influx of sunshine and a whole new set of possibilites. A large new island bed containing several species of annuals and perennials was still putting out flowers. And Kathy is lucky enough to have a very unusual piece of garden art that graces this bed--an old cast iron hitching post that looks like a tree branch. We worked our way on up the grassy hill which Hayden viewed as perfect for recreational lawnmowing, to the new shade bed that contained some really nice specimens. A beautiful European wild ginger and a very large fern of unknown origin and hardiness were among the plants that are in the process of filling out this bed. As time goes by it will be a lovely blend of texture and shapes.
Our tour completed, it was onward and inward to the house for some delicious Honeycrisp apples and caramel dip and some chocolate chip oatmeal bars that Kathy made FROM SCRATCH. Yum!
Our meeting commenced and we had our Secretary and Treasurer's reports. No news on the travel front, and for the most part the Facebook alerts are getting to people. If you are a member of the Facebook group and you haven't gotten the alerts, or if you aren't getting the copied version that Bobbi sends out via email, please check your spam folder. If you find it in there, highlight the email and tell your system that it is "not spam" so you can get the updates forwarded into your regular mailbox. We aren't all totally digital yet--Cindy and Dewayne are still struggling to get something that at least resembles high speed connectivity at their house--but we are gaining on it. The internet is a tremendous way for us to stay in touch with each other--and its a much quicker and more efficient way to put the word out about things. We are all on the learning curve together on this--so keep trying and letting us know what you are having trouble with so we can all get on the same page.
The big issue of the night is the fact that everyone voted (thanks to all for taking the time) and given the result we went ahead and conducted a voice vote on the following three issues. The results of the votes were unanimous in each case for the following questions:
Do we wish to remain federated? NO
Do we wish to continue to collect dues? YES
Do we wish to scrap our current bylaws? YES
These three motions were voted on and passed. Since our federation lasts throughout the year until next April, we will participate in Federated activities until then.
Of course, the question becomes "what next?". That will be the subject of further discussion, but for now, just think about what form you want the club to take.
We also discussed the upcoming district meeting, which takes place on Wed. Oct 26 in Rochester at the museum. I passed out copies of the registration form--the fee for the day is 15 dollars, and the preregistration deadline is Oct. 17th. These are enjoyable gatherings that any of our members can attend. Rosie and I will be going since there is a convention committee meeting afterwards.
And speaking of that--Rosie still hasn't had any answers to her questions about the program book, so there isn't anything to report on that front.
In other convention news we discussed the issue of Ways and Means donations and door prizes--Kathy suggested having her friend Judy construct a wreath that we can donate. We would pay Judy a fee for this service and furnish her with materials or reimburse her if she bought materials. We will keep this idea in mind as we progress. Sue reiterated her pledge to make a garden item, and Cindy volunteered to see if she can hunt down some wooden quilt block pieces she has to make a donation as well. Rosie will be weaving a basket, I will whip something up, and anyone else that wants to can add to the mix. I read an email about ideas for Ways and Means donations, and we discussed some ideas for that too.
Next on the list was the future calender that Shirley is in the process of figuring out. This will be a simple way to list activities for each month. Shirley doesn't want the process to become overcomplicated--her vision is a physical copy of a simple calender, with stars by dates that are cross referenced and described on a second sheet of paper. We talked about ways to also have the calender online and suggestions were made for how to most easily accomplish this. Hayden suggested that the Microsoft Office Suite may have an application available to facilitate this process. He also suggested that Google might have a calender tool. Rosie is familar with Microsoft Office, and a couple other folks are too. We will keep discussing this idea and figuring out the best way to implement it. Its a great idea that fits with the new direction our club is going--the question is how to go about it in the way that is most comfortable for the person putting the calender together and the most useful for everyone who uses it. I suspect this will become some kind of a cooperative effort between more than one person. It can be great--just will take some time to bring it to fruition.
As for announcements--there were two things of note--first, please keep prayers flowing for Maggie and Gene. Sue filled us in on what is going on--so far all is going well and we are so thankful on their behalf for that. Send them cards and happy thoughts to keep the positive energy flowing. Since Shirley sent out a roster, you should have Maggie's mailing address. If not, please contact me and I will get it to you.
And Patrick's current status is a bit obscure--but Patrick we are all thinking about you and missing you. We hope you are okay so you can return to us soon.
Then it was on to discussing the nature of our next meeting. In a moment of inspiration the idea to do Gourd craft was put forth. Marianne and Cindy seized on the subject and volunteered to take charge of what should be a very fun night. Cindy will bring gourds and her new ink dyes for us to try--Marianne will bring her leather dye and her incomporable gift for garden art and we will all give gourds a go. Please bring anything you can think of that might be fun to decorate a gourd. If you need inspiration, here are some links:
http://www.gourdfestival.com/
http://blackberryhilldesigns.com/
http://www.google.com/images?q=gourd+crafts&hl=en&oi=image_result_group&sa=X
There is a ton of stuff on the internet--just go out and surf around. Thanks so much to Cindy and Marianne for stepping up--this will be a really fun night and a great chance to learn something new.
After all that it was Kathy's turn to tell us about her wonderful houseplants. We admired her huge Croton, that looked for all the world like a silk plant--it was so perfect. And then we watched as Kathy divided some African violets. She showed us how she uses coffee filters in the bottom of the pots to keep the soil from leaching out, how to pop the plants out of the pots and pull the crowns apart, how to scrape and clean the crown after removing many of the leaves, and how to repot the divisions into fresh soil (she had a proprietary mix for African violets, but also said she uses regular potting soil blended with a lot of peat and that works just as well). We were also advised on the proper level of neglect to show these plants (i.e. neglect them quite a bit--water infrequently). Kathy told us that African violets prefer east or north facing windows although they can be moved to a South facing exposure for the winter. Just remember to move them as summer approaches to keep the leaves from scorching.
With that, those of us who wanted baby African violets were given a nicely potted division to take home, the cats were duly petted and admired, and we all headed home.
We are such a fun group of people. We all came away from the evening in a happy state of mind. Many thanks to Kathy for such a positive night!
HTTD
Fearless
We started the evening out taking a tour round her yard--dodging round what has proven to be a statewide bumper crop of black walnuts. Kathy's yard is undergoing some transition--what once was a deeply shaded property has become much better lit, thanks to some heavy winds and a tree that decided it was time to "leave". The unhappy tenant picked itself up and exited the premises, root ball and all, leaving Kathy with a sudden influx of sunshine and a whole new set of possibilites. A large new island bed containing several species of annuals and perennials was still putting out flowers. And Kathy is lucky enough to have a very unusual piece of garden art that graces this bed--an old cast iron hitching post that looks like a tree branch. We worked our way on up the grassy hill which Hayden viewed as perfect for recreational lawnmowing, to the new shade bed that contained some really nice specimens. A beautiful European wild ginger and a very large fern of unknown origin and hardiness were among the plants that are in the process of filling out this bed. As time goes by it will be a lovely blend of texture and shapes.
Our tour completed, it was onward and inward to the house for some delicious Honeycrisp apples and caramel dip and some chocolate chip oatmeal bars that Kathy made FROM SCRATCH. Yum!
Our meeting commenced and we had our Secretary and Treasurer's reports. No news on the travel front, and for the most part the Facebook alerts are getting to people. If you are a member of the Facebook group and you haven't gotten the alerts, or if you aren't getting the copied version that Bobbi sends out via email, please check your spam folder. If you find it in there, highlight the email and tell your system that it is "not spam" so you can get the updates forwarded into your regular mailbox. We aren't all totally digital yet--Cindy and Dewayne are still struggling to get something that at least resembles high speed connectivity at their house--but we are gaining on it. The internet is a tremendous way for us to stay in touch with each other--and its a much quicker and more efficient way to put the word out about things. We are all on the learning curve together on this--so keep trying and letting us know what you are having trouble with so we can all get on the same page.
The big issue of the night is the fact that everyone voted (thanks to all for taking the time) and given the result we went ahead and conducted a voice vote on the following three issues. The results of the votes were unanimous in each case for the following questions:
Do we wish to remain federated? NO
Do we wish to continue to collect dues? YES
Do we wish to scrap our current bylaws? YES
These three motions were voted on and passed. Since our federation lasts throughout the year until next April, we will participate in Federated activities until then.
Of course, the question becomes "what next?". That will be the subject of further discussion, but for now, just think about what form you want the club to take.
We also discussed the upcoming district meeting, which takes place on Wed. Oct 26 in Rochester at the museum. I passed out copies of the registration form--the fee for the day is 15 dollars, and the preregistration deadline is Oct. 17th. These are enjoyable gatherings that any of our members can attend. Rosie and I will be going since there is a convention committee meeting afterwards.
And speaking of that--Rosie still hasn't had any answers to her questions about the program book, so there isn't anything to report on that front.
In other convention news we discussed the issue of Ways and Means donations and door prizes--Kathy suggested having her friend Judy construct a wreath that we can donate. We would pay Judy a fee for this service and furnish her with materials or reimburse her if she bought materials. We will keep this idea in mind as we progress. Sue reiterated her pledge to make a garden item, and Cindy volunteered to see if she can hunt down some wooden quilt block pieces she has to make a donation as well. Rosie will be weaving a basket, I will whip something up, and anyone else that wants to can add to the mix. I read an email about ideas for Ways and Means donations, and we discussed some ideas for that too.
Next on the list was the future calender that Shirley is in the process of figuring out. This will be a simple way to list activities for each month. Shirley doesn't want the process to become overcomplicated--her vision is a physical copy of a simple calender, with stars by dates that are cross referenced and described on a second sheet of paper. We talked about ways to also have the calender online and suggestions were made for how to most easily accomplish this. Hayden suggested that the Microsoft Office Suite may have an application available to facilitate this process. He also suggested that Google might have a calender tool. Rosie is familar with Microsoft Office, and a couple other folks are too. We will keep discussing this idea and figuring out the best way to implement it. Its a great idea that fits with the new direction our club is going--the question is how to go about it in the way that is most comfortable for the person putting the calender together and the most useful for everyone who uses it. I suspect this will become some kind of a cooperative effort between more than one person. It can be great--just will take some time to bring it to fruition.
As for announcements--there were two things of note--first, please keep prayers flowing for Maggie and Gene. Sue filled us in on what is going on--so far all is going well and we are so thankful on their behalf for that. Send them cards and happy thoughts to keep the positive energy flowing. Since Shirley sent out a roster, you should have Maggie's mailing address. If not, please contact me and I will get it to you.
And Patrick's current status is a bit obscure--but Patrick we are all thinking about you and missing you. We hope you are okay so you can return to us soon.
Then it was on to discussing the nature of our next meeting. In a moment of inspiration the idea to do Gourd craft was put forth. Marianne and Cindy seized on the subject and volunteered to take charge of what should be a very fun night. Cindy will bring gourds and her new ink dyes for us to try--Marianne will bring her leather dye and her incomporable gift for garden art and we will all give gourds a go. Please bring anything you can think of that might be fun to decorate a gourd. If you need inspiration, here are some links:
http://www.gourdfestival.com/
http://blackberryhilldesigns.com/
http://www.google.com/images?q=gourd+crafts&hl=en&oi=image_result_group&sa=X
There is a ton of stuff on the internet--just go out and surf around. Thanks so much to Cindy and Marianne for stepping up--this will be a really fun night and a great chance to learn something new.
After all that it was Kathy's turn to tell us about her wonderful houseplants. We admired her huge Croton, that looked for all the world like a silk plant--it was so perfect. And then we watched as Kathy divided some African violets. She showed us how she uses coffee filters in the bottom of the pots to keep the soil from leaching out, how to pop the plants out of the pots and pull the crowns apart, how to scrape and clean the crown after removing many of the leaves, and how to repot the divisions into fresh soil (she had a proprietary mix for African violets, but also said she uses regular potting soil blended with a lot of peat and that works just as well). We were also advised on the proper level of neglect to show these plants (i.e. neglect them quite a bit--water infrequently). Kathy told us that African violets prefer east or north facing windows although they can be moved to a South facing exposure for the winter. Just remember to move them as summer approaches to keep the leaves from scorching.
With that, those of us who wanted baby African violets were given a nicely potted division to take home, the cats were duly petted and admired, and we all headed home.
We are such a fun group of people. We all came away from the evening in a happy state of mind. Many thanks to Kathy for such a positive night!
HTTD
Fearless
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