EIPS Newsletter
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In This Issue:
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November 2005 |
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Saturday, November 12, 2005
This is our annual end of the season meeting where we celebrate the year and start the planning for 2006. * The Recognition Committee will be spot lighting all of the members who hosted a meeting at their ponds. * Elections: Also at this meeting will be the elections. If you aren't there in Nov, there is no one to protect you from being nominated. ha ha. * 2006 schedule. If you are interested in hosting a meeting next year, plan to attend this meeting. * Committees will also regroup and start their planning. * EIPS will pick up the dinner tab. (2 members per family) The Pizza Ranch has a great buffet of Pizza and Chicken and all of the extras. * And finally, at each meeting this year we have been entering our names in the year long door prize drawing: the Ziploc bag. The drawing will be at this meeting. You must be present to win. It is a great meeting to attend. Lots of talking and planning and celebrating. Remember, EIPS runs on volunteers. Please consider serving on a committee. Many hands make for light work | |
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Our October meeting was held at the home of Rosie and Herman Michels in Cedar Rapids. Like a scene out of a grave yard, these pond members really out did themselves to make this meeting perhaps the most unusual I’ve ever been to. The Michaels have a large workshop, which was totally transformed into a Halloween scene complete with spiders and monsters and ghouls. When the parade of members, all in costumes, finally settled down, our president, Kacy, started with a business meeting. Minutes were approved as written. I (Jackie) announced that I had handouts to share with members (compliments of Jamie Beyer) on Winterizing Water Gardens in the Midwest. Also, for those who had ordered EIPS T-shirts; the order was there for pickup. Kacy read a letter from a Dr. Kevin Novak, and from the organizers of the autumn landscape show at Brucemore. We again talked about proposals for this year’s pond tour moneys. With much discussion, we finally voted to give the Macbride Raptor Project $750.00 and the Cedar Rapids Parks and Rec. $500.00 for the addition of a new bench along the city’s nature trail. Monica Morley will follow through with the city’s donation and look into a plaque to go along with the bench stating that it was an EIPS donation. We decided to hold some of the money hoping we could do another Expo or bring in some larger name speakers next year. More talk about that at our annual planning meeting. November is re-election month for our officers. So as usual we’re seeking volunteers. If you are willing to help or know someone you think would make a good officer, please email me or call with your name suggestions, ASAP. (Cedarserviceja@aol.com or 934-3665) We’ll try our best to recruit some great help. New blood is always desired! Door prizes were drawn for with Pat Beuter, Curt Moore, Robert Hollenbach, and Margie Thompson all being our lucky winners. And speaking of NEW BLOOD! Following the meeting, Rosie had a host of games involving all members at some point. First we got to eat literally a ton of food, again. Rosie and Herman provided sandwiches, treats, and drinks for everyone and with all the extras that members brought we had a wonderful buffet! Rosie had pictures of numerous famous murderers. We had to guess their names from the pics. Linda Nolan had the most correct. Rosie gave us a little history on each of the notorious murderers, making it an informative history lesson for all. She also had a dead rat covered with maggots (fake of course). We had to guess how many were on it. Gill Morley was the closest, guessing 135 when there were 144. Pam Moore knew her monster movie trivia and won that contest. Next, 3 couples attempted to use up a complete roll of toilet paper the quickest, by wrapping up their mate mummy style. The Hunerdosses won. The guys were all dizzy from the spinning and the on lookers were laughing hysterically at them. 3 more couples were then asked to come forward and this time they tied pumpkin head pails around the guys waist. They then lined up the wives across from them (blindfolded them) and asked them to throw tootsie rolls into the buckets. The Nolans got the most in by the end of the time limit. Again, very funny! Then, came the potato game. Rosie put a potato in the foot of panty hose which were then tied around several victims waste so that it hung down between their legs. They then were given a ball which they had to hit with the potato across the room and touch the pumpkin pails (since after several tries, they couldn’t get them in) It didn’t help that a floor drain in the middle of the floor allowed for the floor to slope away from the pails. I believe Nancy Baldwin and Robert Ward were both winners at that game. The last game was a version of fear factor. Rosie placed a variety of food on plates. Some yucky stuff, some not so bad. Relay teams had to eat the contents of the plate as quickly as possible. (I personally chose to eat the pickled herring off the plate, I thought it was delish!) Our team didn’t win though. Last, but not least, was the costume contest. Members were asked to vote for various classes. Rosie won the scariest category (Lady Dracula) Pat Beuter won the funniest ( she had on a long t-shirt of a bikini clad lady), Best couple were the Geers (he was dressed as a fisherman and she as a fish), I won the overall best costume( orange haired devil lady) and finally Stephanie Geers won the most creative(she was the fish). The string algae (Hunerdosses) people didn’t win any prizes, but I thought they were perhaps the most appropriate for the organization. Maybe we need to make them our mascots! I’m thinking they would be a hit at our advertising booths. Again, mooch thanks to the Michels for all their time and energy. It was great fun and everybody had a spooktacular time! | |
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Wow, the meeting is really soon so this is all we can get into this issue. If you have additional information, we might print a December issue e-mail me. EIPS EDITOR — Carol Sindelar | |
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An old farmer had owned a large farm for several years. He had a large pond in the back, fixed up nice; picnic tables, horseshoe courts, basketball court, etc. The pond was properly shaped and fixed up for swimming when it was built. One evening the old farmer decided to go down the pond, as he hadn't been there for a while, and look it over. As he neared the pond, he heard voices shouting and laughing with glee. As he came closer he saw it was bunch of young women skinny dipping in his pond. He made the women aware of his presence and they all went to the deep end of the pond. One of the women shouted to him, "We're not coming out until you leave!" The old man replied, "I didn't come down here to watch you ladies swim or make you get out of the pond naked. "I only came to feed the alligator." Moral: Old age and treachery will triumph over youth and skill. | |
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I discovered something while preparing our natural pond for the winter season. This discovery may be of interest to others who have natural ponds and even those who have preformed and liner ponds. While I was trimming back the water lilies for the winter season, I discovered the following. This summer after our last servicing of the potted lilies, I placed the tubs quite close together because of the large number of tubs that we had. As I was trimming, I was not finding only a very few tubs where many should be. After completion of the task, I realized that with only a few tubs having been found, that a new species of plastic eating microbes had eaten many of our tubs leaving only the lily root growing where the tub had been placed. This was confirmed by the many lily roots I found growing in the bottom of the pond. I don't know the solution to this yet but all ponders should be warned. Its probably another of the "Last Days Plagues". Correct name spelling should you want to recommend me for a Nobel prize of some sort, is the following. Quinn Novak P.S. This could be very informative for club members via newsletters. (No charge for this break-through until the Nobel prize recommendation is on the table) | |
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Thought I would pass along some stats about the website! Over the last 10 months... * average of 407 unique visitors per month.
Compared to last year:
If you have any questions on these numbers, let me know! Josh | |
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Many decisions will need to be made before the right techniques can be applied to winterizing your pond. * Determine if the pond has enough volume and deep enough to successfully keep fish and plants in it during the winter. Almost all above ground ponds (or tubs) need to be emptied before they freeze unless supplemental heat is provided. * Determine if your water garden needs to be emptied for fish population control and/or sediment removal. Do this in early fall so that your pond can recover before winter sets in. Attempt to save as much of the water (up to 80 %) as possible. Cheap kiddie pools work great but need to be bought during early summer. Retailers clear the shelves of them by late summer. I recommend doing this in the fall instead of the spring. A spring cleaning can create conditions for an algae bloom -- the pea green soup kind. * What tropical plants do you want to save and what kind of facilities do you have for your use -- like a greenhouse, warm basement equipped with an intensely lighted tub or a dedicated refrigerator turned up to 50 degrees? A few tropicals make good houseplants -- so get rid of that couch and make room??!! * Do you want to net the pond to keep leaves from falling into your pond? Some leaves and tree debris may fall through the net -- like locust tree leaves. It may be just as easy to use a leaf vac or fish net to remove them before freeze-up. You do not have to remove 100% of the debris but try and get most of it. * Decide on how many of the hardy water lilies, lotus and marginal plants you want to over winter. Get rid of the extras to friends and then lower the lilies and lotus to the bottom of the pond after you remove the surface leaves. This will need to be done before an ice sheet forms on the pond - usually the first couple of weeks in November is the best time in Central Iowa. Notice I said usually -- you can a solid sheet of ice before that but most of the time it melts or can be easily removed. * What types of fish and aquatic life do you have and how many? All tropical fish will die in cold water of say 60 degrees or lower -- this includes Plecostomuses and apple snails. Most of the inbred goldfish will not survive the winter -- the orandas, ryukins, and other egg shaped goldfish are in this category. Calico shubunkin goldfish, comet goldfish, and most koi are very hardy and can withstand water temps of 34 degrees. * If fish are brought inside to over winter then decide on types of tanks used and at what temperature. Be sure to cover the tanks with something because fish, that are used to larger quarters, will jump readily until they get used to their more confined space. Koi will amaze you, but with a sad tone, at their ability to jump. * Do you own a power plant or related to a power plant owner? If not, then forget the floating stock tank heater! I guess there may be times when I would use one but I can't think of one right now to justify the costs -- besides it wastes energy. * What pumps and filters will be shut off and, if they are exposed to ice, then drain them? Ice will not normally harm flexible tubing but rigid tubing (like PVC) will need to be drained. * Decide on methods of keeping a slow circulation in the pond. An aquarium air pump or a small water pump will work -- I prefer the air pump. Unless your pond is very small, shallow (less than 18 inches deep) or above ground, then you cannot supercool the water to the detriment of the fish. This is contrary to what some references say but they are wrong!! | |
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September 8th through 10, 2006
World class show fish The Best Vendors, Thousands of hobbyists! Koispen will be raffling off four guest judge positions, a spot on the Koiphen Japan 2006 trip, and much more. In addition to the raffle they will also have auctions throughout the year for two more guest judge positions and several other prizes yet to be announced. You can find updates about the show at www.koiphenshow.com. At this time, you can purchase Banquet Tickets, Wet Lab Tickets, Entry Tickets, Raffle Tickets and T-Shirts online! More information at koiphenshow.com -The Koiphen Koi Show Planning Committee | |
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At the November meeting we will begin the process of planning 2006 activities. EIPS is run by volunteers. All planning is done by the membership. If you have some ideas, we all what to hear about them. We will be inviting everyone to volunteer for a committee: PLEASE PICK ONE TO JOIN: Each committee will be responsible to meet and establish a chairman for their group. If too many volunteer for one group (or it is considered full) and others have none, you may be asked to rechoose. So first to volunteer get first choice........... COMMUNITY SERVICE COMMITTEE: * works with the water garden tour committee to bring to the club membership ideas as to where to apply the proceeds from the tours. * see that money gets dispersed * in the case of a project that requires club participation, they will be responsible for organizing materials, getting volunteers, (does not mean they are responsible to do all the work involved) and carrying through with said project. PROGRAMS COMMITTEE: * responsible for finding and organizing programs and speakers for meetings. * plans and organizes club activities, such as trips, club workshops, etc. COMMERCIAL RELATIONS: * responsible for making contact and maintaining our relationships with area retailers. (Letting them know we exist) * establish club discounts or promotional door prizes. * Distribute club information to dealers so they can give to customers. HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE: * welcoming new members * mentoring new members * Promote library * name tags and club membership cards * Generally help members realize the discounts and benefits to joining. * Historian—Organizing scrap books or collecting pictures of club activities. WRITING COMMITTEE: * help write for and organize the newsletter * assist the secretary WATER GARDEN TOUR COMMITTEE: * finding ponds and getting the tour organized * recruit volunteers to help at the ponds * establish times * print programs * coordinate and help with publicity. PUBLICITY COMMITTEE: * organizes and gets publicity for meetings and activities. * Works closely with Pond Tour group to get advertising everywhere. * develops and maintains our club informational brochures and sees that they get to the Commercial Relations committee for dispersal. RECOGNITION COMMITTEE: * sends thank you notes to presenters & business sponsors. * puts together year end recognition programs for officers and volunteers CLUB OFFICER JOB DESCRIPTIONS DEFINED: * President - Conducts business meetings to insure quick and controlled flow of discussions. Introduces new ideas and helps stimulate open discussions on member’s pond experiences. Works with all committees to make sure each is carrying out it's responsibilities. * V. President - Replaces the President at meetings (In their absence). Works with program committee and club members to schedule and coordinate meeting locations and times. * Treasure - Responsible for keeping the club's bank account balanced and justified. Must keep detailed records of all club debits and credits. Responsible for making deposits and writing checks for expenditures. Must give brief oral reports on the club's bank balances at meetings. * Secretary - Responsible for keeping meeting minutes. Writing and mailing out our monthly newsletter. * Webmaster: Responsible for updating and maintaining our club's web site. | |
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Eastern Iowa Pond Society Membership Application | |
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Note—this is a tentative schedule. That means don't keep it. Don’t go by it. Just read it now and enjoy what might be happening the rest of the summer. Then remember to read your newsletter each month to know what is really happening. (Sat) November Vinton
Now remember, this is only tentative. Read your monthly newsletter for details and updates. | |