August 2001 Selected Articles
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August 2001 Selected Articles |
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Thanks to Carl and Andrea Brewer for hosting our July meeting. We were seated under large shade trees beside the community pond, which made for a very comfortable setting on a hot Florida afternoon. Club members were called on to give short presentations on their backyard ponds. They described the specifics on their own ponds with some being very large, some small, and some in between. I feel this worked very well and we will continue to do this at other meetings. We would like others to tell what they thought they done right building their pond and also the mistakes they feel they made so others can avoid doing the same. Thanks to all club members who participated. Thanks also to Chuck and Betty for the beautiful stained glass window they donated to our monthly raffle and the wonderful baked ham we enjoyed after the meeting.
The next meeting will be our annual summer fest / luau. Remember to wear your Hawaiian attar. We will have several small presentations, raffles, door prizes, music and lots of fun. The meeting will be on Saturday August l8 at 6p.m. at my home. Every club member is asked to bring a side dish or desert for this event as we expect to have 60 to 70 members attending. The club will be providing the main dish (Barbecued pork) and the soft drinks so don’t miss this meeting.
Minutes of the July 8, 2001 NFKC meeting. The weather was seasonably warm with a refreshing breeze. Black clouds hung in the afternoon sky waiting patiently for the close of our meeting. It was held the home of Carl & Andrea Brewer and we would like to thank them for kindly accommodating us. They have a newly completed pond that is house in a screened cabana-style patio. As we approached from the street and proceeded to the backyard, we couldn’t help but notice the immaculata condition of their grounds.
Fred Leib opened the meeting by introducing new members. 35 members and 4 guests attended.
Tim Gasson outlined the plans for the trip to Black Water Creek on Aug 4th. However, this event has been canceled due to the farm’s owner being out of town. Jan Brown gave the treasurer’s report and Fred discussed the need to by 15 more chairs for the club meetings. He also enlisted suggested for new books to enhance our library. Several good recommendations were made.
Rod Lawton delivered a $880.00 check to the club from this year’s AFKAPS. He also resigned as AFKAPS rep. as did Jim and Susan Roberts. All sighted the long drive and other upcoming obligations as their reasons. The club still needs 2 reps. and an alternate for 2002 AFKAPS. Rod went on to relate the happenings at this year’s AKCA seminar.
Plans for the Fall show, Nov. 10 came next. Tina Stogsdill will take care of the plant booth and asked that members start potting their plants now and tagging them for identification. Jim Roberts will handle the set up and members are encouraged to volunteer in this area. He will supply oxygen for the show. Todo and Jan have advertising. Tim will take care of the vendors. Charlie Gardner will secure the judges. Jon Lockerman will handle the pre-classification. Teresa Leib, Andrea Brewer and &Kate Deaton have the banquet for our Award’s Ceremony and Tina & Cliff Kaler have the food stand.
There was a discussion on letting members in out laying areas pull their fish out of the show as soon as the judging was done, so these members would have time to get back for the banquet.
Fred mentioned the possibility of holding joint activities with the Gainesville and Nature’s Coast club. Then he invited several members to describe their ponds and their histories. This was quite educational.
Pond Efficiency with Water Quality and Energy
Non-Koi people sometimes think it’s strange that many of us name our fish. I found this string online and thought it would be fun to see what others name their fish. If you give me your list of fish names, I’ll present it here too.
Cindy: Snow white, Glitters, Sunny (changed to Dummy), Hot Lips, Mohawk,
Dottie, Freckles, Lady, Sash, Marble, Tiger, Cramer. The feeder goldfish are "The
Gang" and the golden orfes are "The Little Rascals". The Catfish are the
"Nightcrew" and the turtles are Frienzy (real friendly) and Timmy (kinda timid)
Tom: My koi are Watson and Crick (the discoverers fo DNA’s double helix). Watson being the larger showier koi matching James Watson's persona. Crick (after Francis Crick) is smaller and a little more timid. My shurbunkin are Mendel (after Gregor Mendel) and Morgan (after Thomas Hunt Morgan). I've only named two goldfish so far; McKusick (after Victor McKusick) is a pale creamy orange instead of a bright orange that reminds of an IBM. Trans (after transketolase) is a deep orange goldfish with brownish fins.
Nedra: Mine are all called "Here Fishie"
Laura: Vader, Chewey, r2d2, c3po, Luke, (Who I have recently found out to be "Leia") and Creamsicle, and Georgia. In answer to the next obvious question, I don't even really like Star Wars. My son named Vader, my mostly black shubunkin, and the rest just sort of happened.
On July 8 we had a meeting at the home of new members, Carl & Andrea Brewer. We had our usual good turnout. The setting was near perfect with lots of shade on this hot & sunny day. However, as often happens on hot afternoons in NE Florida, the lightening started to bolt across the sky. And the group of club members were making a mad dash to get out from under the trees and into cars to be on their way home and out of the impending storm. Though many of us tried to put away a few things as we gathered our belongings, there was still a lot left for the hosts to do on their own.
Our monthly meeting of the NFKC has turned into a monthly pot-luck party. On the surface that may not seem like a problem. But I believe it is. First of all, we have 2 parties a year. We have a Luau in the summer and a Christmas Party for the December meeting. But the only difference between those two parties and the monthly meeting is that the parties are held on a Saturday evening instead of a Sunday afternoon. The parties are still held at a member’s home, and it is still pot luck. But we do have a little more time to help clean up. The parties have lost their special quality because they are so similar to the regular monthly meetings.
Secondly, we may be scaring members off who might otherwise open their homes & yards for a meeting because they think there is a lot expected of them. That was never meant to be the case. We are grateful for anyone who opens their homes to the club for a meeting. But the only obligation the hosts have is a place to hold the meeting. They are not obligated to feed or entertain club members.
When I first became a member of the NFKC, there was a core group of members who attended monthly meetings that only included about 10-15 people. We would have a meeting that lasted an hour to hour and a half, have some light snacks and cold drinks, clean up and be gone. As the core group increased in number, the meetings have gotten out of hand. The meetings NEVER start on time. Part of this is due to the fact that people are bringing in large amounts of food in bowls, platters and crock pots. It takes time to find a place for these large items. And some of them need to be plugged in to keep warm. The meetings are still running an hour to an hour and a half. However, we now have 30-40+ members in attendance. And by the time each one gets a plate full of food and finds a place to sit down and eat, go back for dessert, and talk to a few members we are talking about 3-4 hours or more. There is more trash and more for the hosts to clean up when the “meeting” is over.
I am suggesting that we get these meetings back on a more timely schedule, stop the monthly potluck party, and go back to cold drinks and light snacks, and leave the hosts with less trash and only a few hours of responsibility to the club instead of a whole day. I am willing to head a committee that would call upon individual members to provide a few snacks for each meeting instead of everyone bringing in food. The club would still pay for the ice, drinks and paper products. But with only light snacks, we would need fewer paper products and minimal utensils. And for those who really enjoy cooking for the members, please have a meeting and provide what you like. But lets save these pot-luck parties for our two annual parties that we have scheduled. Please feel free to voice your opinions on this matter at the next meeting - which will be our Luau, and our time to party! Sandee Todorsky.
I am a veterinarian who has done a considerable house call practice. There are a lot of things on the market that are sold to repel or stop herons from coming to your pond for a meal. I've encountered Herons that will readily eat fish from ponds with: 1) Heron decoys 2) Inflatable snakes 3) Inflatable or other "Owl Eyes" 4) Synthetic owls.
It's interesting about the Heron decoy. The USFWS did a study on Herons and they found them to be solitary birds, preferring to travel and fish alone. Recently, marketing weasels have figured out that if they put a decoy near a pond, perhaps that would repel the Heron, since he wants to be alone...Right? WRONG. The Heron prefers to be alone, however, according to the USFWS the sight of another bird or Heron at water's edge means that it's safe to land!!! You'll see Herons landing on the opposite side of the pond, eat their fill and take off without a care. The most effective method is a pyrotechnic Heron scare - which is a unit which fires a pyrotechnical charge (a little firecracker) every three to fifteen minutes, often at random. They can be heard for miles and the sound repels the Herons. These are the ones they use at Fisheries in the middle of nowhere. They are very effective but they are VERY loud. Wouldn’t your neighbors love that?
Probably the very best (and still practical) residential Heron control is the water sprinkler ( <http://www.scatmat.com/scarecro2.htm> ). It is a proprietary branded thing, looks like some kind of a Toucan, and it shoots water when it detects motion. So, the Heron flies in, and all of a sudden the sprinkler comes on. Not that the Heron minds being wet, but it startles them and they take off. Killing a Heron (which is a migratory bird) is very easy because they have a sizeable body and they think that by staying "stock-still" you cannot see them. However, it's important that you know if you kill a Heron, and your neighbor sees you, they can have you JAILED with the carcass unless you give him your large-screen TV. Don't confer that kind of power on anyone. Repel the Heron before you try anything like killing it. Best regards Doc Johnson
pondaphoria: mild narcotic sensation derived (without the assistance of other drugs) from sitting beside a pond
pondoholism: addiction to ponds - patient won't go on vacations, must stop at all garden centers with even a hint of pond plants, and gets seriously depressed in winter. Moving to a warmer clime is often considered a viable solution.
pondomania: irrational desire for more and more ponds
ponditis: swelling of the pond, not to be confused with pondaphoria, pondomania or even pondoholism. It refers to the need to enlarge the pond waaaaay beyond anything you ever dreamed of when you put that 100 gallon puddle where there was a little space.
Obviously, pondomania is essentially a mental disease, and pondoholism can be treated with a 12-step program, but ponditis is a disease for which there is no known cure.
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