Are you ready for spring? It is snowing like crazy in Grand Rapids as I write this. ONLY 38 DAYS TILL SPRING!! That same day we have the first meeting of the West Michigan Bonsai Club for 2018. That's a good sign. We have a new place to meet (Kent Career Tech Center) while Meijer Gardens continues the renovation of the learning center. I will attempt to post a map and directions to the place we will meet as well as full directions, soon. Less than a mile from Meijer Gardens Our schedule for 2018 is shaping to be a very good one. March 20 we gather to see Tim Priest present tools, what they are used for, how to maintain them, and how to sharpen them if necessary. Tim is a great presenter and always makes his time fun and informative. Anita Buckowing will talk about pots and how to match your bonsai to a pot. We will also have some suggestions about where to acquire a pot in anticipation of our April meeting. Of course you are always welcome to bring a tree to show off or to ask a questions about. In April we will concentrate on re-potting The Club will provide soil and wire (you must be a member otherwise you must join that night). and several of us will be there to guide you through re-potting. Limit this to two trees, please. That date is April 17. The Michigan Allstate Bonsai Show is May 12 and 13 at Meijer Gardens I encourage all of you to enter a tree. Must be in a proper pot (not nursery pots) and using a stand or mat to make it a professional looking presentation. I will try to spend a bit of time during the April meeting to talk about where to find those resources. May 15 we will host John Cervoski from Kalamazoo who will present a demonstration of deadwood and deadwood carving. He will be demonstrating tools and techniques as well as a few of his own trees that have carved deadwood. John is from Kalamazoo and pursuing bonsai during his retirement. A few years ago John won the Best of Show award at the AllState show with a yew (with carved deadwood of course). This will be a very interesting evening I am sure June 19 will be a special night. Jack Sustic, retired curator of the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum part of The National Arboretum in Washington, will present a program on the Museum, the trees (some are National Treasures) as well as an overview of how they acquire trees and how they maintain them. Jack is a very personable guy who should make the evening very special. We are still working on programs for later in the year. Watch this facebook page for more information when it is available Now about that snowblower!
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