by John Callaway

Join us Saturday, December 1st at King's Buffet for the club's annual Christmas Party. Festivities will begin at 6:00pm and continue on from there. Members and their families/guests will be asked to purchase their meals from the buffet. Wine will be provided by the club.

Many thanks go to Kenny Popp for allowing the club to collect native trees from Calvary Cemetery last month. Among the plants and trees collected were privet, honeysuckle, hornbeam, locust, and various kinds of reeds and grasses. The morning was a little chilly but did eventually warm into a very nice day. I hope we all get a chance to see the trees collected and how they progress in the years to come.

On Saturday, November 10th, I had a few club members join me at my home in Shepherdsville. There we discussed bonsai care, outside benches, soil, fertilizer, winter preparation, and a variety of other bonsai topics. This provided me with a great chance to remind myself of some of the things that I sometimes don't put enough thought towards, and I hope helped those in attendance. If you have any desire to host or attend such a meeting, I would highly encourage you to do so. A quick note in the newsletter or phone call is all that is required.

You may have seen the 2008 calendar posted in this and last month's newsletter. Club meetings will be the 2nd Tuesday and the following Saturday for each month, unless otherwise noted. Hopefully this will help club members plan ahead for attendance. I would love to see us fill our meeting room at the Bon Air Library.

Planning continues for the 2011 ABS/BCI seminar to be hosted in Louisville. If you would like to lead a committee, please contact me ASAP. Volunteers will be greatly appreciated. In the next few months, we will be finalizing the committees and start recruiting others as plans progress.

As always, if you have any concerns, whether it's about a specific program you would like to see, an idea for the newsletter or website, or just a general suggestion, please don't hesitate to mention them to me or one of the board members.