From the Oval Pond Mary Ellen McClain

Transcription

1 March 2010 PKWS 2010 OFFICERS President - Mary Ellen McClain Vice Pres.- Rebecca Trull Secretary Mary Ann Penix Treasurer Allen Lee ************************* APPOINTED OFFICES Show Chairs Rebecca and Russell Trull Membership Allen Lee Newsletter Carol Mathis Property Manager Tracy McCorkle Webmaster Mike Long From the Oval Pond Mary Ellen McClain This past week at work, I had a Webinar to learn about Social Networking. The educational class was to teach you about, blogs, twitter, etc. Gosh, I need to take the course that precedes this one because much of the terminology was way over my head. Incidentally, I don t tweet. Last month, I mentioned about Joe White s trip to Brazil. Additionally, with this Webinar and another incident that happened recently, it made me think about a common theme. In the Webinar, the instructor said how interest groups could be set up, i.e.: koi keepers. One could set up your group and chit chat with other people all over the world with whom your share this interest. Then last week Jeff Reiter, a club member, wrote to some of us about a tragic incident that befell a KHA instructor in Johannesburg, South Africa. This common theme is just how small a world we live in. cont d Page 3 Editor Carol Mathis Inside this issue: Officers 1 Advertising Rates 1 From the Oval Pond 1 & 3 Lily Pad 2 Direction for Social Social Calendar 4 Treasurer s Report 4 Minutes of Meetings 5 E.Coast Road Trip 6 Crossword Puzzle 7 Membership form 8 DON T FORGET TO WEAR YOUR NAMEBADGES TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE SOCIAL DOOR PRIZES. Quick Ads: up to 20 words $5 per issue, must be submitted by 15th of the month. Please be sure to include your address and phone number. Make checks payable to PKWS. Contact Carol Mathis, or caomah@aol.com All advertisers are welcome! Your business does not have to be koi/ pond related. Disclaimer: PKWS assumes no responsibility to claims of advertising or quality of goods/services offered.

2 March 2010 page 2 LiLy Pad Meet our MeMbers Carol Mathis & Leo Bollinger In Jauary 1994, I was on a business trip in Asheville, North Carolina. Having finished my day, I stopped at the Asheville Farmer s Market to browse around. This was to be a most fateful day in my life. I saw my first fish pond. It was a preformed 250 gallon fish pond. I was hooked! I had them strap it on top of my Oldsmobile (I didn t own a van at the time) and drove from Asheville with my prize strapped to the roof of the car like some prized hunting trophy. When I drove in the driveway in Mint Hill, Leo greeted me with What in the god s name have you got on the car?. With which I replied, A fish pond and I want it there, pointing to the spot in the yard where I had envisioned it right at the front door. This would be our first endeavor with keeping fish. I started with goldfish(shubukins and comets. I bought one platinum pineconed koi at the pet store. I later added more koi, as my platinum fish had hooked me. I might mention that at this time, there was N O W H E R E in Charlotte to buy pond supplies. I found my koi, my pump and filter at Fintastics on South Boulevard. We set about dutifully to making a water garden and accompanying plant surrounds in the flower bed beside our front door. We faithfully overflowed the pond every Saturday, because someone told us to change out 25% of the water every week. That s right, city water every week no dechlorination. Who d ever heard of such a thing? We lived in blissful ignorance, had plenty of baby fishes and never lost a fish..until the dreaded racoon showed up. You guessed it he got my beautiful fat momma shubukin and my prized koi. Right at my front door!!!! It was around this time, we found our home in Concord. First thing, Leo set in to digging our bigger fish pond, because the fish we had, were going with us. It was outside the fence and would become what we now call our mud Pond, although at the time, it had a liner, pump and filter. It had a great little water fall, and Leo built a bridge over one corner. Life was good! Several years later, on one rainy, rainy day, the little waterfall collapsed and we had a mess. I ll save the rest of this story for another day. It was around this time that we found the Piedmont Koi and Watergarden Society. We would attend the meetings, with me looking at the fish and Leo looking at the filtering systems. We then went inside the fence to build a bigger pond. I layed out a garden hose in the shape and size I wanted, but I made the mistake of renting a backhoe. Never turn Leo loose with power equipment! The result is a pond we love, but not what we started out to make. There is approximately 18,000 gallons of water, a huge filter shed(because I couldn t stop buying fish) and two waterfalls. We have a slate patio at one end which extends out over the water four feet. (Or should I say the pond goes under the patio four feet?) The life saga of the Koi Hobbyist goes on until today. All the headaches, heartaches and joys of owning koi. It s a cycle we all go through, starting with baby steps and then reaching for the stars, um..koi. By the way, we showed our first fish at the 2009 KOI SHOW, mainly through the urgings of Les Mize and Tracy McCorkle. Les helped us pick out the koi to show, helped catch them. We won 6 trophies, including Best LONGFIN and Grand Champion Longfin. Who knew????

3 March 2010 page 3 Cont d from page 1 Brady Brandwood, a prior club member and Koi vendor, owner of Lotus Land Koi, came as our guest to speak for February s meeting. Here are some of the highlights on his talk about pond fish: A deeper pond is much easier to keep stable. The temperature remains more constant, the PH is more stable and it is easier to maintain no ammonia. The really hot July daytime temps and the cooler nights put stress on the fish, cause the fish s colors change, and the color edges to change; plus they re more susceptible to disease. A black/yellow fish (kiutsuri), & a black/white fish (shiro utsuri) are good pond fish. A yamabuki ogon (one solid color) is a good basic fish for your pond, they won t lose the yellow color.. A kohaku tancho is a difficult fish to keep ( the red spot often disappears). Brady places KOI folks into 3 groups: 1) the new hobbyist the eco system is entertaining 2) Show fish folks they want t o show fish but really do not h a v e suitable ponds to main tain quality show fish. If you can t care for the fish, stress is inv olv ed for both you and the fish. 3) Advanced learning - enjoy all fish both pond fish and show fish. Brady ended his talk with a culminating remark that actually hits the nail on the head! He said for us to Select that part of the hobby you like! I m going to attend the field trip up to see East Coast Koi. I spoke for several minutes with this vendor s wife at our Koi Show last November. She showed me his business card, and this vendor is also known as Mr. Pretzel. He conducts two businesses, selling koi and selling pretzels. We had bought two fish from him at the show; unfortunately, we lost them as we did not have our quarantine tank up and going. We mistakenly thought we could control the water quality by chemicals. Some folks have to learn the hard way, or should I also say have to learn the expensive way. I am starting to send out survey letters to our prior members of the PKWS. Hopefully, we may begin seeing some old familiar faces rejoining us at meetings over the months ahead. I am looking forward to seeing both you and nicer weather! President, Me McClain Directions for Social Saturday March 13, 2010 Plant Divide 4:00 p.m. Wayne Pritchett and Cecilia Smith Caroline Acres Rd Ft Mill SC From Independence Blvd. Take I-485 toward Pineville Take exit 61 (Johnson Road/521) From Pineville Take I-485 toward Independence Blvd. Take exit 61B (Johnson Road/521 South) Go south on Johnson Road Turn right at the fourth traffic light (Providence Road West) Follow Providence Road West to the South Carolina line Go about 100 yards into South Carolina and turn right onto Caroline Acres Road. House is 6 tenths of a mile on the left. (mailbox is on the right)

4 March 2010 page SOCIAL CALENDAR March 13 plant divide Wayne Pritchett/Cecelia Smith April 10 Fish Cull Sale Leo Bollinger & Carol Mathis May 8 Ken & Barbara Horne-Stead June 12 Don & Mary Ann Penix July 10 Brannon Raines(new member) August 14 Allen & Regina Lee September 11 Eleanor Ubry October 9 open November 13 open December 11 open WHAT IS A PLANT DIVIDE???? It s a great way to get diversity in your pond plantings. Everyone brings some plants they wish to share and we divide them and re-pot them right there. If your garden is like mine, the flowers often overtake their appointed places and we need to thin them out. Usually when thinning out flowers, you can t decide what to do with the excess. This is a wonderful experience in helping new pond hobbyist to grow their gardens, which, by the way, is the case at Wayne and Cecelia s. So let s help them out. Of course, due to the weather, all my plants look really bad. TREASURER S REPORT CURRENT BALANCE $10,538.14

5 March 2010 page 5 Minutes of January 2010 meeting The first meeting of 2010 was held on January 9, 2010 at the Captain s Galley Restaurant. There were sixteen (16) members present. President Mary Ellen McClain introduced the 2010 officers. Mary Ann Penix is the new AKCA contact. Allen Lee is KHA certified and Jeffrey Rriter is training to be certified at this time. Mike Long with chair the Pond Tour Committee. The executive Board will meet via conference calls. New Committees will be appointed in the near future. Meeting venue for 2010: January Capt. Galley Restaurant February to be announced in Feb. news letter March Wayne Pritchett and Cecelia Smith April Cull auction at Leo Bollinger and Carol Mathis May Ken and Barbara Stead June Donald and Mary Ann Penix July Brannon Raines August Allen and Regina Lee September Open October Open November Open December Open Door prize (Wildflower calendar) won by Cecelia Smith. President Mary Ellen McClain reported what other Koi clubs from all over the US had been doing. There was a group discussion on cold water pond keeping. AKCA will donate up to $400 to pay for a professional speaker if the club so desires. Minutes of February 2010 meeting The second meeting of 2010 was held on February 20, 2010 at the Great Wall of China South. There were seventeen (17) members present. Membership---Twenty (20) paid members. President McClain will write a letter to invite inactive members back to our club. March 13 Social--- Will be held at Wayne Pritchett and Cecelia Smith s at 4pm for the plant swap. January Minutes---Read by Mary Ann Penix and approved by members. Treasury Report===$10, Congratulations to Carol Mathis for doing such a great job with our newsletter! Pond Tour---Pending. Field Trip---March 27, 2010 to East Coast Koi in New Hill, N.C. More information regarding this trip will be in the next newsletter. Terry McClain is arranging a field trip to Blue Ridge Fish Hatchery at a later date. Door Prize (Fish salt and pepper shakers) won by Tanya McCorkle. Speaker---Brady Brandwood spoke about how to select good pond koi. Your Club News---An article was submitted by Mary Ann Penix to Koi USA. Minutes of March Associated Koi Clubs of America Meeting---secretary Penix has copies available for anyone wanting to read. Business meeting adjourned at 6:10. The open discussion was what New Year resolution was made by each member. Also discussed ways to promote PKWS and increase membership. A small packet of information will be put together by Terry McClain for new members. Meeting adjourned at 7:30 PM.

6 March 2010 page 6 East Coast Koi Imports Fieldtrip March 27, 2010 Come one, come all, members and guests, let's enjoy the day!! Friends Welcome!!! 9:00am... Leo Bollinger & Carol Mathis' home 1284 Biltmore Dr., Concord, NC Home Cell :15-12:00... travel time to East Coast Koi Imports 3705 Mason Road New Hill, NC :00-1:30pm.. Lunch Directions to Carol and Leo s: From Albemarle Road, turn onto Lower Rocky River Ch Road. Go 5 miles and turn left onto Biltmore Drive. Third house on right in bend of road. From Rocky River Road, turn onto Lower Rocky River Road. Go 1.5 miles and turn right into Biltmore Drive. 1:30 -??... East Coast Koi Imports Approximately 3 hours home Contact #'s...carol Mathis Mary Ellen McClain Rebecca Trull DRIVING DIRECTIONS From 1284 Biltmore Dr, Concord, NC US 1. Start out going EAST on BILTMORE DR toward LOWER ROCKY RIVER RD. (go 0.2 miles) 2. Turn LEFT onto LOWER ROCKY RIVER RD. (go 1.6 miles) 3. Turn RIGHT onto ROCKY RIVER RD. (go 3.6 miles) 4. Turn SLIGHT RIGHT onto OLD CHARLOTTE RD SW. (go 0.2 miles) 5. Turn RIGHT onto NC-49 N. (go 24.5 miles) 6. NC-49 N becomes NC-49 E. (go 25.6 miles) 7. Merge onto US-64 E toward US-220/RALEIGH. (go 52.9 miles) 8. Turn RIGHT onto NC-751. (go 0.3 miles) 9. NC-751 becomes NEW HILL-OLIVE CHAPEL RD/NEW HILL OLIVE CHAPEL RD. (go 4.3 miles) 10. Turn LEFT onto OLD US ONE HWY. (go 0.5 miles) 11. Turn RIGHT onto MASON RD. (go 0.2 miles) MASON RD is on the LEFT. (go 0.0 miles) >> TOTAL ESTIMATED TIME: 2 hours 27 minutes DISTANCE: miles

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8 Carol Mathis 1284 Biltmore Drive Phone: We re on the web! M E M B E R S H I P F O R M The Piedmont Koi and Watergarden Society (PKWS) is a not for profit organization. The membership year runs from January 1st through December 31st. Annual Membership Dues for a family for the first year are $55.00 AND INCLUDES UP TO TWO(2) NAME BADGES. Additional nametags may be purchased at a cost of $15.00 each. For renewing members the dues are $24.00 Please complete the following form and return it with your membership dues to: ALLEN LEE 900 Club Drive Monroe, NC Please print clearly (this information will only be used for club records). Please print your names) as you would like them to appear on your name tag(s). Last Name: First Name(s): Membership in any AKCA affiliated Club and a two year subscripville, TN, May 19-20, next step. We need YOU! at the AKCA Seminar in Nash- you are already involved, take the tion Address to KOI 1: USA is now the only Classes start at your convenience basic requirement to take the class. anytime from July 1 through November. An early application al- Koi and/or water garden hobby While many participate in our The Address $100 2: registration fee is gone. This is in keeping with our lows you more time and greater there are, unfortunately, those focus City: State: Zip: on education and promoting assurance of a seat. Interested? who are missing out on some of the hobby. To promote the hobby Tim Czech, KHA Class Coordinator 65blcc@gis.net and fully involved in helping them- the potential satisfaction of being we Signature: Date: must first promote you. The classes are all on line at ask for an application and particulars. If you have questions, I the mission of most of our clubs is selves and helping others. Part of your own pace except for the Address: Telephone # hands on lab which will be held am khajerry@yahoo.com. Since to promote good Koi husbandry Membership Dues(New member) $55.00 Volume 1,Issue 1 Page 8 Membership Dues(Renewing) $24.00 (Circle One) Additional Name tags ($15.00) TOTAL ENCLOSED: