WACO POND SOCIETY NEWSLETTER                                                                                         October 15,  2001

“Gather around the pond and start pulling plants out of the stream and bio/veggie filter areas and we will divide them and then replant sparsely” and with that our October 15th meeting opened with Rhonda Barron giving hands-on experience and explaining the pond maintenance procedures for cleaning and maintaining the pond at the Arboretum.  

Tools Needed:

• Commode brush or other plastic stiff bristle brush.
• Tooth Brush
• Magnetic Phillips Head Screw Driver
• Colander
• Scissors
• Fish Net
• Buckets
• Waders(optional)

Tasks:

• First, plug in the sunk pump to remove water from under liner..until that problem is solved.
• Clean rocks on waterfall and stream with commode brush and toothbrush for those hard to reach places.
• Clean outlet of falls with toothbrush.
• Clean lava rock intake filters on both pumps and clean pumps.
• Use screwdriver to remove the cover on the intake side of the pumps. Then use the toothbrush to clean inside the pump.   Magnetic just in case you drop one of the screws in the water it makes it easier for you to find and pick up.

• Use colander to collect lava rock and take it to a place away from the pond to wash it with the water hose.
• Trim spent leaves with scissors or by hand from the lilies and other aquatic plants.
• Fertilize the water lilies every two weeks during growing season.
• Use fish net to remove gunk from bottom of pond and place in the bucket.
• Top off pond to the level of the “top off rock” using dechlorinator if more than 2 inches of water is needed.

That’s it folks!  Sign up now for pond maintenance!!  We still need members to help provide pond maintenance at the Arboretum.  Winter months are easier than the summer months because there is less algae which makes easier cleaning, no lilies to trim or fertilize and the weather is much more pleasant.

Our Plant Swap turned out well with members leaving with all kinds of aquatic plants to place in their ponds.

Rhonda welcomed everyone and gave a special welcome to our new members and thanked everyone for coming.  She ask all the new members to sign up to get e-mail newsletter and announcements . Rhonda asked the members for ideas for meeting topics and also what appeals to the new members.

Pond Tour 2002:

Each year the pond tour gets bigger and more complicated and we are still learning as we go.  It has gotten so big that we need help in coordinating everything connected with it.  So, Rhonda proposed to organize a Pond Tour Committee to organize next years tour.  Rhonda passed out a sign up sheet for those to sign that want to be on the committee.  This committee will meet every WPS meeting night at 6:30p.m. just before our regular meeting.  Rhonda has ask Karen O‘Bric, manager of the Carleen Bright Arboretum to be on this committee to help with reporting and coordinating Pond Tour 2002.

Some things to think about before our first Pond Tour Committee meeting:

• Maps vs. Directions to each Pond.
• Selling of Waco maps along with the tickets and coordinating individual maps to the Waco Maps.
• Tour Guides
• Tour Buses
• What do other pond societies do?
• More than one person entering the Pond Tour with just one ticket.
• Tickets for people to wear on their shirts to get in and only one tour map per group?

If you would like to serve on the Pond Tour Committee, please get with Rhonda.

December is our party meeting.  We will be having a "Pot Luck" dinner.  Email Rhonda your recipes for what you will be bringing to the dinner and we will have a cookbook on line of our favorite recipes.

Rhonda introduced our new members.

NEWS FLASH:  We still have some WPS T-SHIRTS FOR SALE for $12.50 each to help pay for the new WPS web site.  Rhonda has sizes Medium to XXXL available. These shirts would make a nice Christmas gift for your favorite Waco Pond Society member.  Contact Rhonda to purchase a shirt.

SWAP AND TRADE CORNER:   Do you have something to trade or swap, please contact either Bonnie or Rhonda .

RECAP ITEMS OF INTEREST:

• Our next meeting November 19, 2001 at 7:00P.M. at the Arboretum.  Winterizing Your Pond!
• Pot Luck Dinner for our December meeting.  Sign up with Barb Schafer.
• Central Texas Pond Tour 2002-Sign up for planning committee.
• Sign up now for Arboretum pond maintenance.
• WPS chats every Wednesday and Saturday night at 8:00pm. Come on and chat with us!  Waco Pond Society Chat .

Please join all of our ponding buddies from NC, OK, OH, NJ, KS, WI, OR. and parts of Canada in chatting on Wednesday and Saturday nights.  We have lots of fun.

Newsletter:  Sign up now for your subscription to our newsletter.  Send $5.00 to Bonnie.  This is for the members that do not have e-mail.

TIP OF THE MONTH:

Rhonda Barron submits our tip for this month.  TO PLECO OR NOT TO PLECO..that is the question. Rhonda writes about Plecos, short for Plecostomus (pronounced: ple-kos’tow-muss) in your ponds.  How to get them out for the winter, and other things.  Thanks Rhonda for the tip.

 To Pleco or not to Pleco...

HAPPY PONDING TO YOU!        

Back Home!

11/14/2001