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WOW -- has it been a great fall for us!! On most days of November it has been above normal temps and below normal precipitation. Denise and I have been busy building a house NW of Ames and because of the great weather we have been able to get a lot done. I also started and pretty much finished a project of building two, twin 12,000 gallon ponds (with bottom drains) at the new place. These ponds will give me space for maintaining a lot of my plants but will also allow me to develop the new filter that I have been boosting about. I will have 40 of them ready for next spring to use in member ponds. This filter will replace most biological filters that require pumps and a lot of maintenance. I will be showing one at our April meeting -- so stay tuned. It is exciting for me to be able to really make a difference in the way ponderers pursue our hobby and this filter will make certainly make things easier for us.
I want to thank Dr. Joe Morris for doing a great program for us at our November meeting. He had a lot of helpful hints and tips and we will be publishing them in our newsletter as space dictates. Also, at this meeting it was suggested that in the spirit of Christmas that we do something special for those that cannot do it for themselves. It was suggested that we bring donated items to give to the Salvation Army. This is instead of giving each other gifts. Everybody liked the idea so I have taken upon myself to do a little research and have found the perfect gift that our organization can offer. I have seen the water garden at Bethany Manor in Story City and it is in serious need of R & R (Repair and Redo). For those that do not know, Bethany is an assisted living home for senior citizens. The pond gets a lot of attention because it is located in a central courtyard surrounded by windows so that the residents can appreciate the beauty from the comfort of being inside.
It just so happens that Denice Reisetter, our Treasurer, works at Bethany and tells me that they do have a person that maintains the water garden but they really do not have the money nor the expertise to redo their water garden. I found out about the pond at Bethany because my mother is now living there and I have found myself beside that pond quite a bit (surprised??). Man, it needs a redo badly.
So I am proposing that in the spirit of Christmas that we pledge to install an easily maintained water garden next spring. At our December meeting we will have a donation plate so we can donate money and/or hard goods for the pond. We will need to be specific as to the type of fish and plants as well as the mechanical aspects of the pond. If you choose to donate in this fashion, then pledge, and after we design the pond we can let you know the type of things that will be needed. At this time you can pledge a pump, filter, liner, money, etc. so the choices are good. The money we will accept now so that we can actually purchase -- at wholesale -- the specific items needed.
We should have a lively discussion of this at our December meeting but what better way to give than to give a pond!! We should be able to do an outstanding water garden for them.
Okay, now for our meeting. We are going to have a discussion of the different types of intakes for our water pumps. Should you use a bottom drain, submersed prefilter, skimmer or a combination of the above? Examples of each type will be shown and the pros and cons of each will be discussed. This is one of those meetings that I will lead the discussion but we need our members input to make the discussion a learning one for all of us. The meeting will be Monday, December 10, start at 7:00 PM and will be at the Ames Public Library in the main auditorium (Farwell Brown Auditorium). The directions to the Library are on the last page of this newsletter. Also, we will have a how-to video going starting at 6:00 for those that show up early.
I am anxious to get everybody excited about our giving of a pond so please come and be part of that Christmas Spirit.
See you at the meeting!!
The Big Toad, Jamie